Massachusetts Casinos Remain Stable While iGaming Is Looming

Casinos in Massachusetts generated just over $105 million in August, a stable year-on-year increase of 1.7% from $103.3 million. 

Of the total, table games generated $31.1 million, a decrease of 9.4% year-on-year from $34.3 million. However, slots saw a rise of 7.1% from $69 million to $73.9 million, keeping the state's revenues stable. 

The revenues come at the same time as a report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Centre, which claims that casino revenues may continue to stagnate in the future, meaning Massachusetts residents may see fewer benefits. Currently, gambling in the state is the fourth-largest tax revenue source. 

Stable Increases for Massachusetts Casinos

The report from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission showed that of the three casinos in the state, all saw revenue increases. 

While Encore Boston Harbor generated the highest income in the state, its revenue remained stable, rising by only 0.1% from $64.92 million to $64.99 million. 

Slots in the Encore Boston Harbor experienced a year-on-year rise of 8% from $35.9 million to $38.8 million; however, table games suffered a 9.7% year-on-year decline, with profits decreasing from just under $29 million to $26.2 million. 

MGM Springfield was the winner for revenue increases, seeing a 5.2% rise from $23.6 million to 2024 to $24.9 million in 2025. Table games saw a year-on-year loss of 6.9%, from $5.3 million to $5 million, however slots saw a rise of 8.7%, from $18.3 million to $19.9 million. 

Plainridge Park Casino does not offer table games, as it is a racino that instead offers horse racing, so its 2.8% rise from $14.7 million to $15.1 million was made up of only slots revenue. 

Sports Betting Coming for Casino Gambling

While the revenue for August remained stable, a report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Centre has warned of the impacts of casino revenue decreasing since 2022, when adjusted for inflation. 

Since the introduction of sports betting in 2023, reports have shown that casino revenues have slowed and reduced by 3% when adjusted for inflation since 2022. While sports betting revenue has continued to climb, the differences in how each type of betting is taxed may affect Massachusetts residents. 

Sports betting in Massachusetts is currently taxed at 15% for in-person bets and 20% for mobile bets. In comparison, casino revenue is taxed at 25%, and slot facilities have a 49% tax rate. If more people turn to sports betting rather than traditional forms of gambling, researchers warn that tax money generated for public funds will be impacted.

“In other words, if somebody wagers $200 on the Celtics instead of losing that sum playing slots, the Commonwealth receives $30 or $40 in revenue instead of $50 at a resort casino, or $98 at the slot parlor. Put differently, the sports betting companies would need to extract a lot more betting losses from Massachusetts residents to support the same amount of public investment by the Commonwealth,” the report reads. 

Legalizing iGaming Will Also Affect Casinos

The impacts are being discussed now as Massachusetts is considering whether to allow online casino gaming and grant licenses to the three casinos in operation. House Bills 332 and 235, introduced by Rep. Daniel Cahill earlier in the year, would legalize online casinos to combat revenue lost through illegal gambling operators. 

Another iGaming bill introduced in August, this time sponsored by Rep. David K. Muradian Jr., would tax online casino operators at the same rate as online sports betting, meaning tax revenue will continue to fall if people prefer to gamble from their homes instead of in state casinos. 

While casinos' revenue remains stagnant, the impact of iGaming may affect more than just the revenues of Massachusetts's three casinos, but also the state's income.