In Pennsylvania, online casinos continued their bull run through November, with total revenue of $59.8 million matching their record October, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) figures.
Revenue from online slots dipped ever so slightly, but table games made up the difference. Online poker was flat month-over-month at $2.4 million. And it was just the second month that slots and tables wager totals were both over $1 billion.
Tax revenue from iGaming totaled more than $24.5 million for the month, including $16.2 million for the state.
Online gambling offsets overall gaming revenue declines
With limited capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions still plaguing casinos, November continued the trend of year-over-year declines in land-based slots and table games revenue.
But considering slot revenue was down 31.6% and table games down 30.0% YoY on average, the overall YoY drop of 2.7% for PA gaming revenue is not all that grim.
Offsetting land-based YoY declines once again are online slots (up 673.4%), online table games (up 595.2%), online poker (up 22.6%), online sports betting (up 153.7%) and VGTs (up 242.7%).
Online poker steady, VGT revenue up
With just one operator, PokerStars PA via Mount Airy Resort, online poker continues to hold steady in PA. In November, poker generated just over $2.4 million.
Truck stop video gaming terminals generated nearly $2.3 million in revenue in November, down from $2.4 million in the previous month. That meant an additional $949,000 for the state and $226,000 to local entities.
A year ago, in November 2019, VGTs brought in just $659,000 in revenue.
Sports wagering handle continues record highs
PA sportsbooks had their best month ever in October, bringing in $525.8 million in handle and gross revenue of $36.8 million. In November, sports betting had its second-highest handle ($491.9 million) and new record handle ($37.4 million).
The state earned $12.7 million in sports betting taxes, while $747,000 went to local coffers in November.
Nov. 17 marked two years since the very first legal sportsbook opened in Pennsylvania. The industry is now in full swing as the clear No. 3 for sports handle behind Nevada and New Jersey.
Daily fantasy contests brought in just over $3 million for DFS operators, yielding state taxes of $452,000 for November. DFS revenue was $3.2 million in the previous two months.
October PA online casino breakdown by operator
A complete breakdown of October revenue, including slots and table games by operator (online gaming license holder), can be found here:
| Casino Operator | Total Revenue | Slots Revenue | Table Games Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers Philly (SugarHouse & BetRivers) | $16.6 million | $13.8 million | $2.8 million |
| Penn National (DraftKings & Hollywood Casino) | $15.7 million | $9.0 million | $6.6 million |
| Valley Forge (FanDuel) | $10.4 million | $4.7 million | $5.7 million |
| Parx Casino | $5.9 million | $5.2 million | $729,000 |
| Mt. Airy (PokerStars & Fox Bet) | $3.9 million | $2.4 million | $1.6 million |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono (Unibet) | $2.4 million | $2.2 million | $214,000 |
| Harrah's Philly (Caesars) | $1.5 million | $1.2 million | $335,000 |
| Wind Creek Casino | $358,000 | $335,000 | $23,000 |
| Presque Isle Downs (BetAmerica) | $242,000 | $232,000 | $11,000 |
| Live! Casino Philadelphia | $294,000 | $273,000 | $21,000 |
| Totals: | $57.4 million | $39.4 million | $18.0 million |
Casino operators by the numbers
The clear front-runners in the online casino race in PA include operators Rivers Philadelphia ($16.6 million), Penn National ($15.7 million) and Valley Forge ($10.4 million).
The comparison isn’t completely fair, however, seeing as Rivers’ numbers include both SugarHouse and BetRivers, and Penn has DraftKings Casino and Hollywood. Still, these five online casinos accounted for more than two-thirds of the monthly revenue.
Other notable revenue breakdowns for November:
- Parx had $5.2 million in iGaming revenue ($5.2 million from slots; $729,000 from tables).
- Mount Airy, which includes PokerStars Casino and Fox Bet, brought in more than $3.9 million ($2.4 million from slots; $1.6 million from tables).
- According to the PGCB breakdown, DraftKings Casino was responsible for $11.6 million of Penn’s iGaming revenue ($5.1 million from slots and $6.5 million from tables).
- Penn’s Hollywood Casino had $4.1 million revenue ($3.9 million from slots; $126,000 from tables).
Also of note, while most operators earn significantly more revenue from online slots than tables, the trend is reversed for FanDuel and DraftKings Casino. At FanDuel, slots brought in $5.7 million, compared to $4.7 million for slots.
Beginning next month, there will be another online casino on the revenue report. BetMGM Casino made its PA debut in early December, launching under Penn National’s Hollywood Casino license.
Lead image via Dreamstime.