BOSTON -- Before they closed on March 15, the state's casinos and slots parlor collected roughly $35 million in gross gaming revenue, generating just under $10 million in tax revenue for the state before gambling came to a halt amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Mass. Gaming Commission reported revenue at the three facilities -- Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor in Everett -- Wednesday and noted that regulators understood that diminished tax collections would be a consequence of closing the casinos last month.
"The gaming commission and its licensees knew that the decision to close casinos in mid-March would have a drastic impact on monthly revenue potential and acknowledge that financial uncertainties will continue to persist for now. However, this unprecedented situation is a public health crisis first and foremost, and taking immediate protective measures to safeguard everyone’s physical well-being was paramount to all other complex and challenging considerations," Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said.
"The MGC is fully engaged with our licensees about forward-looking plans and a safe return to gaming operations. At the same time, the prudent next steps and Commission decision-making will be informed as scientific data and other relevant facts emerge, the landscape evolves, and the short and long term economic effects come more clearly into view."
In total, the state can expect to see about $9.8 million in gaming tax revenue from the half-month.
Encore led the way in the first half of March, having produced $20.5 million in revenue from its slots and table games. That resulted in a state tax assessment of about $5.1 million, the commission said.
At MGM Springfield, the first half of the month generated about $9.3 million in gaming revenue and the state can expect to see about $2.3 million in tax revenue from those two weeks.
Plainridge Park Casino's slot machines pulled in just under $4.8 million in revenue before the slots parlor closed. The state's share of that is roughly $2.3 million.
Despite the differences in gross revenue, the tax hit to Plainridge is roughly equal to that for MGM Springfield because of the difference in the way the facilities are taxed. Resort casino revenue is taxed at 25 percent while the slots parlor's revenue is taxed at 49 percent.
The three gambling halls will produce no revenue -- and therefore no state taxes -- in April. The Gaming Commission has ordered the casinos shut until at least May 4, with plans to consider a further extension of the closures before that date.