Louisiana Casino Revenue Still Way Down, Rising Slowly

Get our free mobile app

It's no secret, our state thrives on casino revenue.

For one reason or the other, our state just can't get those numbers back up to where they were pre-pandemic. Granted, I don't necessarily think it's fair to assume that while still in the pandemic, those current numbers should be compared to the numbers before COVID-19 cam in and wrecked everything. However, the uptick in casino revenue in our state is climbing upwards at a very slow pace.

Maybe out state will see a jump in the numbers soon as poker rooms across Louisiana have reopened as LA ventured into Phase 3. Even though the poker rooms are typically not a money-maker for the casinos, it's always a good thing to have more people inside the establishment. After all, even I have extreme difficulty walking past an open slot machine.

2020 was a rough year for casinos in Louisiana, seeing $877 million in lost revenue from year-to-year. Of course, it's easy to put all of that blame on COVID-19, and yes, the pandemic accounts for a large majority of that loss, but Louisiana also suffered through an intense string of freak-nature events. Louisiana Casino Association President Wade Duty says, "We were closed from March to May so obviously no revenue there, as we got deeper into the summer of 2020 we had hurricanes, then as we got into the winter we had freezing temperatures that were taking water service offline in Lake Charles and Shreveport."

With casino revenue rising, albeit very slowly, we're on the right track but there is still work to be done. Luckily, it would seem we're much closer to the end than the beginning of this thing.