The revenue for casinos in Detroit dropped by nearly 60% in 2020. The gambling halls of the state have been closed for months because of the coronavirus pandemic. As the economic impact of the pandemic continues, the major source of revenue for the city is slowly drying up.

Struggles for top casinos

The Greektown Casino, MotorCity Casino, and MGM Grand Detroit have all been struggling because of the state-mandated lockdowns. Last month, the revenue for the MGM property fell by 40% year-to-date. It was just $126.5 million compared to the $315.1 million it earned during the same period in 2019. MotorCity Casino too experienced a 40% drop in its revenue from $169.8 million in 2019 to $70.1 million in 2020.

The reason behind the downfall for the almost 3-month long shutdown of these properties. The three casinos together earned only $299.2 million during the first six months of 2020. This marked a 59.3% decline from 2019 in which it earned $735.4 million.

The city is suffering too

As casino revenue as declined, wagering taxes have also gone down significantly. The city collected only $35.6 million in taxes during the first half of the year. This is less than half of what it earned in the first half of 2019 i.e. $87.5 million.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board suggests that the state receives about 8.1% of the net winnings of a casino while Detroit city receives 10.8%. Both the city and the state have lost the tax revenue. In April, May, and June, all three casinos received $0.

This happened after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered all casinos, theaters, bars, and gyms alongside several other businesses to shut down in March because of the rising number of coronavirus infections in the state. She also focused on social distancing, reducing person-to-person contact, etc., which could be difficult to follow in high traffic businesses like casinos.

All three properties are currently waiting for the Governor’s permission to reopen. However, she has extended the lockdown because of the rising number of cases. It is unclear when the businesses will be allowed to reopen. However, the tribal casinos are not under any legal obligation to follow the state’s orders and they opened their businesses in late May.