Oaklawn, Southland Casino-style Wagering Tops $3.5 Billion In 2014
by January 17, 2015 1:45 pm 448 views
It was another record year for casino-style gambling at Oaklawn and Southland, but 2015 is likely to blow that record away.
The two Arkansas venues with electronic games of skill (EGS) wagering saw total gambling expenditures top $3.53 billion in 2014.
One year ago, the Hot Springs and West Memphis racetracks saw combined EGS wagers of nearly $3.23 billion. Both tracks underwent massive construction expansions in the last year that should further increase their EGS intake in 2015.
EGS wagers include gambling spent on video blackjack, poker, slot machines and other electronic casino-style games.
The year-end statistics released by the Arkansas Racing Commission showed Oaklawn pulling in $1,359,074,501 in EGS wagers in 2014, and Southland EGS wagers were $2,172,451,426.
Combined EGS wagers between the two racetracks were $3,531,525,928 for the full year. The payout from EGS wagers in 2014 was $3,297,779,415.
Oaklawn’s biggest month for EGS gambling was March 2014 when the Hot Springs-based track recorded $136,383,137 in monthly wagering.
Southland’s largest month of EGS activity was February 2014 when wagers cleared $200 million at $202,823,549. March 2014 was the only other month EGS wagers cleared $200 million at $202,724,969.
At the six-month mark of the state’s fiscal year, taxes from EGS wagers have brought in $18.4 million, while taxes from traditional track racing has brought in $1.1 million.
In the last state fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2014, tax collections from EGS wagers brought in $39.5 million, while taxes from horse and dog track gambling revenue brought in $2.9 million.
2014 EGS Wagers & Payouts
Oaklawn
Wagers= $1,359,074,501.48
Payout= $1,274,949,158.82
Southland
Wagers= $2,172,451,426.28
Payout= $2,022,830,256.63
Combined
Wagers= $3,531,525,927.76
Payout= $3,297,779,415.45