New report: Gambling revenues continue sliding
SPRINGFIELD -- Gambling revenues for Illinois casinos continue to slide, a new report says, even as some lawmakers push to build more of them.
The Illinois Gaming Board's monthly report released this week shows gambling revenues for all of the state's casinos down 6.3 percent between November 2009 and November 2010.
The Grand Victoria in Elgin lost 2.9 percent over the same period. And the boat is down more than 13.3 percent from October to November of this year.
Illinois casinos' current struggles are exactly why casino officials argue there shouldn't be more competition.
“We haven't been making this information up,” said Tom Swoik, who represents the Elgin casino as director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association. “This is basically the same thing we've been talking about for the last three years.”
The Senate last week approved plans to build five new Illinois casinos and allow Arlington Park to have up to 1,200 slot machines. The House could consider the plan early next year.
Supporters of the gambling plan say the new casinos could bring in more money for the cash-strapped state.
An analysis by the state's nonpartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability predicts an earlier, very similar, expansion plan would have netted the state about $460 million upfront. And the report says state and local governments could get more than $550 million a year once all the new facilities are up and running.
“The casino climate has dramatically changed over the last several years,” the report states. “Whether it is from increased competition from other states, the struggling economy, or the indoor smoking ban, adjusted gross receipts for Illinois riverboats have fallen sharply over the last two years. The figures in this estimate attempt to factor in this dramatic fall-off.”
Casino revenues
Casino gambling revenue continues to drop, as some lawmakers push to build more casinos.
Casino: November 2009 (in millions)/November 2010 (in millions)
Elgin : $22,967/$22,300
Aurora: $14,898/$14,017
Joliet-Empress: $12,345/$10,408