Friday, July 09, 2004
Study finds racino revenue growing faster than other gamingStudy finds racino revenue growing faster than other gaming
BANGOR, Maine — Revenues from racetrack-based slot machines grew faster than any other form of gambling during the past decade, a study has found.
The California-based Analysis Group reported revenue at so-called "racinos" were up 48 percent since 1994, while American Indian-run casinos were up 16 percent and commercial casino revenues rose 5 percent.
The study released Wednesday attributes the growth to the relative novelty of racinos _ the first one opened in Rhode Island in 1993. Racinos also are opening in states where they face little competition from other forms of gaming.
"Racinos are the flavor of the day," said Sebastian Sinclair with Christiansen Capital Advisers, a Maine-based firm that studies the gaming industry.
Racino revenue grew 8.3 percent between 2002 and 2003, almost six times faster than commercial casino revenues. Both were outpaced by growth in American Indian gaming, the Analysis Group study found.
Penn National Gaming hopes to open a racino in Bangor by next spring. Any slots that open there would produce a relatively small amount of revenue in their first year and would have little impact on the national trend, Sinclair said.
But, he added, the rapid growth of racecourse-based slot machines could increase pressure to open a racino in southern Maine.
"Ultimately it will happen," Sinclair said.
The anti-gaming group Casinos No! says racinos are growing so quickly because it is easier for state lawmakers to vote to allow slots at horse tracks, where betting is permitted, than to allow gaming where it was previously forbidden.
But spokesman Dennis Bailey said organized opposition would prevent a racino being built in southern Maine.
"It would be tough for them to come down south," Bailey said. "But that doesn´t mean they´re not going to try."
BANGOR, Maine — Revenues from racetrack-based slot machines grew faster than any other form of gambling during the past decade, a study has found.
The California-based Analysis Group reported revenue at so-called "racinos" were up 48 percent since 1994, while American Indian-run casinos were up 16 percent and commercial casino revenues rose 5 percent.
The study released Wednesday attributes the growth to the relative novelty of racinos _ the first one opened in Rhode Island in 1993. Racinos also are opening in states where they face little competition from other forms of gaming.
"Racinos are the flavor of the day," said Sebastian Sinclair with Christiansen Capital Advisers, a Maine-based firm that studies the gaming industry.
Racino revenue grew 8.3 percent between 2002 and 2003, almost six times faster than commercial casino revenues. Both were outpaced by growth in American Indian gaming, the Analysis Group study found.
Penn National Gaming hopes to open a racino in Bangor by next spring. Any slots that open there would produce a relatively small amount of revenue in their first year and would have little impact on the national trend, Sinclair said.
But, he added, the rapid growth of racecourse-based slot machines could increase pressure to open a racino in southern Maine.
"Ultimately it will happen," Sinclair said.
The anti-gaming group Casinos No! says racinos are growing so quickly because it is easier for state lawmakers to vote to allow slots at horse tracks, where betting is permitted, than to allow gaming where it was previously forbidden.
But spokesman Dennis Bailey said organized opposition would prevent a racino being built in southern Maine.
"It would be tough for them to come down south," Bailey said. "But that doesn´t mean they´re not going to try."
