Delaware May 2025 casino report: Revenue up 1.9% from last month
The Delaware Lottery has published figures for land-based casino performance in May 2025, with overall revenue rising by 1.9% when compared month-on-month.
BonusFinder.com, a leading US casino bonus comparison site, has summarized the latest financial findings for Delaware’s brick-and-mortar casinos, but how does it compare to last year? We find out.
The Lottery’s report also detailed a year-to-date drop-off across video lottery and table game yield, as total land-based casino revenue stooped from $37.8m in May 2024 to $37.4m in May 2025 – down 1%.
Table game revenue ($3.4m) remained a lower source of income for The First State’s land-based casino venues; beaten by ever-impressive video lottery takings of $34m – culminating in an 900% difference between both sectors.
Land-based casino revenue: VLTs and table games
Two major sectors dominate Delaware’s land-based gaming scene: video lottery terminals (VLTs) and table games.
The former stands as the stronger revenue driver – amassing $402m in wagers and $34m in profit during May.
This outlines the market’s steady position; VLTs have accrued no less than $29m, per month, throughout FY25.
Additionally table games also saw a month-on-month increase in wagers placed, as May’s handle outperformed April’s by 4.7%.
In turn, September 2024’s fiscal-year high of $22m in table game bets is yet to be outdone.
Combined net proceeds figures for VLTs and table games unveil a healthy $37.9m return across all three retail operators: Delaware Park, Bally’s Dover and Harrington.
While this sits below the total take for May of the previous year, Delaware’s minor losses point to a holistically reliable market.
Tax and purse deductions Delaware May 2025
All brick-and-mortar Delaware gambling operators must meet tax and purse obligations. Specific requirements differ depending on the market – as demonstrated below.
VLT deductions:
State share: 38%
Vendor fee: 8%
Purses: 11%
Having deducted these fees from Delaware’s total VLT take ($34m) for May, land-based video slots terminals collected approximately $14.8m in retained proceeds.
Table game deductions:
State share: 15.5%
Purses: 4.5%
This amounts to a 20% reduction in preserved earnings – bringing the total figure for table game commissions to $2.7m.
Overall, VLTs and table games acquired $17.5m after all contributory responsibilities for May were met.
Delaware casinos compared: May 2025
Three main operators provide land-based casino facilities in Delaware – with fierce competition between Delaware Park, Bally’s Dover and Harrington. Here, you’ll find a clear-cut breakdown of the state’s triple header of retail venues.
Delaware Park leads the way
The Stanton-based Delaware Park reported $14.1m in net proceeds for VLTs during May 2025.
Despite significant tax contributions ($5.4m), vendor payouts ($1.1m) and purse duties ($1.4m), the operator’s total VLT commission stood at a solid $6.3m.
As for table games, Delaware Park earned $1.7m in net proceeds. When accounting for state and purse commitments, that figure came down to $1.4m.
Contrasted with domestic competitors, the land-based casino’s final figures for net proceeds – across both VLTs and table games – was $15.8m and after-tax income ($7.6m) outscored that of Harrington and Bally’s Dover.
Bally’s Dover sees revenue drop
Following a period of heightened gains, Bally’s Dover has returned to the mean – as May saw $138.9m spent on VLT wagers; two months after a mighty $176.8m was wagered during a four-week period.
Table games enjoyed a 12.5% uptick in player wagers during May, with $6.1m attributed to the establishment’s gaming rooms. Yet, table game net proceeds fell from $1.3m in April to $985,000 during the most recent fiscal month – a decline of 24.2%.
Bally’s Dover may have incurred its least lucrative month in terms of table game accruements, but the operator’s post-deduction $5.75m VLT and table game earnings place it firmly in contention to vie for top spot within the state.
Harrington lags behind competitors
Delaware’s poorest fiscal output in May came by way of Harrington. When adding its table game and VLT haul, the racino accepted fewer wagers ($104m) than Bally’s Dover and Delaware Park.
Perhaps most damning was Harrington’s disappointing total net proceeds figure ($8.95m) – which fell short of standalone VLT numbers of both local rivals.
With that said, the fact that Harrington houses fewer tables (26) compared to Bally’s Dover (29) and Delaware Park (44) accounts for some of the operator’s limitations.
Moreover, Harrington does not comprise a single poker room; Delaware Park boasts 10. Similar is true for VLTs – as Harrington could only offer 1,312 slot terminals, compared to Delaware Park’s 1,847 and Bally’s 2,160.
Not since August 2024 (1,311) has Harrington held fewer active gaming terminals.
All things considered, May accounted for Harrington’s worst month in terms of wagers placed since February – with March ($135.3m) and April ($107.1m) each seeing greater stake values than in the latest period.
Year-to-date outlook: Steady decline that could be reversed?
Delaware’s casino lineup took $420.6m in wagers spanning VLT and table game facilities in May 2025 – showing a 0.6% increase over the same period for 2024.
However, those numbers alone do not summarize the entire story.
Net proceeds depreciated by 1.1% as revenue fell to $37.4m from May 2024’s $37.8m, while track commission earnings were knocked down by 2.2% during the same period; dropping from $17.9m to $17.5m.
The number of physical VLTs jumped to 5,319 in May 2025 – up slightly on the previous year’s 5,298. Casino table game amenities were unchanged from May 2024, at 99.
Can Delaware repeat last year’s summer comeback?
June 2024 displayed strong results for Delaware’s three-pronged casino market; table game wagers increased by 14.4% and VLT expenditure rose by 20.6% compared to May of the same year.
Most promising was the state’s mighty return in the net proceeds category – as May 2024’s $37.8m was trounced by June 2024’s $44.6m; an 18% boost.
Despite minor setbacks during May 2025, operators may anticipate an uplift in June, as was seen last year.
