Casino revenue down $140m

Revenue at Perth's Crown Casino fell by more than $140 million in the past financial year after the venue was forced to close for three months because of COVID-19, while the number of visitors also fell by 2 million.

The figures were revealed in the Gaming & Wagering Commission's annual report, which was released today and showed that the state government's tax take from the casino fell by more than $12 million.

Crown raked in $391 million in gross gaming revenue in 2019-20, down from the $533 million it took in 2018-19. 

"The reduction in gaming revenue and casino tax has direct correlation with the closure of Crown Perth over the period March 23 to June 27 2020 as result of the Closure of Certain Places of Business, Worship and Entertainment Directions on March 23," the report found.

Visitor numbers fell from 8.14 million to 6.12 million, also because of the three-month closure.

The biggest generators of revenue at the casino were the electronic gaming machines, which brought in $206.5 million. Baccarat generated $83.3 million, roulette $40.9 million, blackjack $23.1 million, automated table games $7.9 million and other table games $29.2 million.

Crown had approval to operate up to 350 table games, and 2,500 electronic gaming machines.

In its own annual report, Crown said the total theoretical revenue from all of its Perth operations was down 23.3 per cent to $613 million in 2019-20, while costs incurred during the mandated closure had been $19.7 million.

Reported EBITDA was $154. 2 million, down 37.2 per cent on the 2018-2019 figure.

Revenue had been up 2.2 per cent in the first half of the year on the back of increased visitor numbers, the company reported.

Nationally, Crown reported a theoretical revenue of $2.09 billion, down 29.2 per cent.