
The Delaware land-based casino sector has been struck hard by increased competition from brand new markets in neighboring states, as the newer and shinier casinos of Pennsylvania and Maryland outperform its three struggling, and highly taxed, racinos.
Dover Downs is Delaware’s biggest and only publicly traded racino, but high domestic taxes and increased competition throughout the state line means crisis for the property plus the state’s two other racinos.
The sector, which comprises Harrington Raceway, Dover Downs, and Delaware Park, peaked in 2006, the year Pennsylvania began issuing its very first casino licenses, when slot revenues hit more than $650 million. By 2016, slots and table revenues combined had plunged to $398 million.
Meanwhile, outfall from the new MGM National Harbor, which launched in Maryland year that is late last stands poised to be the final nail in the coffin. That property caused other casinos in Maryland and West Virginia to ramp up their own marketing drives, drawing even more customers away from Delaware’s ailing properties.
The three racinos cannot compete because they pay higher state taxes than their counterparts across the edge, and they’re begging legislators for help.
Taxed Out From the Market
This week, the Delaware’s Video Lottery Advisory Council (VLAC) met to talk about the status of Diamond State’s three casinos. The council is taske Continue reading “Delaware Brick-and-Mortar Casino Sector Advisory Board Holds State’s Fate, While Maintaining Cards Close”