The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has revealed that casino gross gaming revenue in September is down compared to the previous year, with two out of the state’s three venues seeing GGR decrease.
Data related to the responsible gaming initiative GameSense has also been released by the commission, which includes an increase in service usage.
For September, the MGC declared that the state’s three commercial casinos – Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor – generated $90.39m in GGR, down from $94m reported during the same period last year.
Table GGR for the month came in at $27.48m, which is down on September 2022’s $32.8m, while slots GGR stood at $62.9m, a slight increase on the previous year’s $61.5m.
Per casino, Encore Boston Harbor led the way with $59.8m GGR, but this figure had dropped in comparison to 2022’s $61.6m.
MGM Springfield reported a GGR of $17.4m, which was also down on the previous year’s $20.6m, while Plainridge Park Casino declared a GGR (slots only) for the month of $13.1m, up in comparison to 2022’s $12.2m.
From all commercial casino operations in the state, $25.7m was collected by the state in taxes – Encore Boston Harbor: $14.9m, MGM Springfield: $4.4m, Plainridge Park Casino: $6.4m.
The commission added that $49.81m was produced in taxable sports wagering revenue across eight online sports wagering licensees and the three land-based licensees, with $9.9m collected in taxes. Sports betting didn’t launch in Massachusetts until early 2023.
GameSense responsible gaming tools usage increases
As previously mentioned, the MGC also released data about the state’s responsible gambling initiative GameSense, revealing an increase in the service’s usage.
GameSense was created by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation in 2009. Helping the public gamble responsibly, GameSense information centres are present in all casinos in Massachusetts, while GameSense advisors are also available.
Highlighting the work done in FY23, the MGC noted that educational interactions about responsible gambling were up 42 per cent YoY to 80,371 (2022: 57,678), while voluntary self-exclusions rose by 12 per cent to 490 (2022: 436).
VSEs conducted overnight grew by 72 per cent YoY to 62 (2022: 36), the number conducted remotely increased by 63 per cent to 156 (2022: 96), while the number of reinstatements was up 47 per cent to 232 (2022: 158).
GameSenseMA.com conducted over 580 LiveChat sessions, offering help on gambling issues, including initiating the reinstatement of VSEs, which was up by 243 per cent YoY to 120 (2022: 35).
The MGC also spotlighted the PlayMyWay budgeting tool, whose sign-ups rose by 322 per cent YoY to 11,549 (2022: 2,736), which the commission attributed to the launch of the service at Encore Boston Harbor (6,200 sign-ups since its September 2022 launch).
Sign-ups for the PlayMyWay service were also up YoY at MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino.
Casinos participated in Responsible Gaming Education Month as well as Problem Gambling Awareness Month, promoting PlayMyWay as well as lower-risk gambling guidelines and positive play initiatives. Each of the three casinos also took part in internal and external messaging.
Training was also offered by internal and external sports betting experts as the offering was rolled out across the state, which included the development of new VSE forms and materials.
At the GameSense information centres, responsible gambling activities were offered including GS Jeopardy, Scenarios Quiz, Pick Your Bet Game, Superbowl Game and a Pyramid Game.
The Massachusetts Council on Gambling and Health’s Racial Justice and Health Equity Committee also held meetings monthly and spent time learning more about First Nations.
In terms of GameSense community outreach, gambling awareness presentations were given at 16 recovery centres, posters were distributed at community justice support centres, and staff attended community events and provided training.
GameSenseMA.com was also updated to include sports betting and pari-mutuel wagering, over 500 social media and digital graphics were created, and digital ad campaigns achieved over 4.1 million views.
