May was a near record-breaking month for Pennsylvania iGaming, including online slots, table games, and poker. PA online casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) was just more than $110.7 million for the month, according to revenue reports from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The total fell just shy of the record $111.6 million set in March, and just above April’s $105.4 million figure.
Online slot revenue was more than $76.7 million in May, and online table games accounted for nearly $31.4 million.
Tax revenue generated from internet gaming during this May was $41.7 million, according to the PGCB.
Poker makes a tiny gain despite first full month with three operators
Pennsylvania online poker had just Mount Airy‘s PokerStars PA for much of its history. Still, even with two more operators during the entire month of May, revenue barely nudged up from $2.4 million in April to $2.6 million in May.
Longtime provider PokerStars PA lost a little ground to the new guys, dropping to just more than $2.2 million in May from $2.3 million in April. But it remains solidly in the revenue lead.
Hollywood Casino Grantville’s BetMGM Poker added $279K to the pot, while Borgata Poker, aligned with Rivers Philadelphia, added just $67K.
The numbers show online poker interest – and revenue – in PA has plateaued, down more than 50% since the robust play the game experienced a year ago when COVID-19 restrictions kept players out of brick-and-mortar casino poker rooms.
Revenue beyond online casino and poker
Sources of all gaming revenue regulated by the PGCB include slot machines, table games, internet gaming, sports wagering, fantasy contests, and VGTs.
The combined total revenue in May 2021 generated from all forms of gaming and fantasy contests was more than $413.1 million.
Total tax revenue before any adjustments was $169.3 million.
PA sports betting dips in May 2021, but surpasses $5B in handle for the fiscal year
PA sports bettors wagered $447.5 million in May, according to figures released by the PGCB. That’s a 6% decrease in handle since April.
But PA sportsbooks reported $37.4 million in revenue, a $1.4 million increase from the previous month. Bets were made largely through online sports betting apps.
April numbers pushed Pennsylvania sportsbooks over the $5 billion mark in wagers in the fiscal year with one month left to go.
PA online casino operator revenue in May 2021
| Licensee | Online Brand(s) | Total Revenue | Slots Revenue | Table Games Revenue | Poker Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood | Hollywood | DraftKings | BetMGM | $43,471,799 | $27,521,047 | $15,671,987 | $278,765 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | SugarHouse | BetRivers | Borgata | $30,704,877 | $26,773,912 | $3,863,711 | $67,254 |
| Valley Forge | FanDuel | Stardust | $17,567,289 | $8,803,243 | $8,764,046 | -- |
| Mount Airy | PokerStars | $8,617,943 | $4,790,479 | $1,570,054 | $2,257,411 |
| Parx | Parx | $5,179,401 | $4,768,164 | $411,237 | -- |
| Mohegan Sun | Unibet | $2,360,658 | $2,017,391 | $343,268 | -- |
| Harrah's | Caesars | $2,056,429 | $1,658,806 | $397,624 | -- |
| Presque Isle | TwinSpires | $989,068 | $760,907 | $228,161 | -- |
| Live Philadelphia | PlayLive | $856,670 | $809,279 | $47,391 | -- |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | -$1,034,051 | -$1,135,972 | $101,921 | -- |
| Total | $110,770,084 | $76,767,256 | $31,399,399 | $2,603,430 |
Penn National’s Hollywood still dominates in the online gaming space
Hollywood’s online gaming brands Hollywood Casino, DraftKings Casino, and BetMGM PA Casino, continued to dominate, combining for more than $43.4 million from iGaming. That again makes them the leader among 13 online casinos live during May. In PA, each land-based iGaming license holder can partner with up to three “skins” or online casino brands.
The PA-based company topped slots revenue with $27.5 million, up from $24.4 million the previous month. They also dominated in online table games, grabbing $15.6 million in revenue.
Poker chipped in nearly $279K in its first full month of having BetMGM Poker PA live.
Rivers Philadelphia in the second position
Gross online gaming revenue for Rivers Philadelphia, including SugarHouse, BetRivers Casino, and Borgata Poker, crept up to $30.7 million, a smidge above April’s $30.4 million.
For online slots, revenue was nearly $26.8 million and $3.8 million for online table games.
Valley Forge, fueled by FanDuel, in third
Valley Forge Casino and their FanDuel PA Casino skin had gross online gaming revenue of more than $17.5 million, a nice bump up from almost $16 million the previous month.
As in previous months, the revenue was nearly evenly split between online slots and online table games.
Mount Airy fourth
Mount Airy’s PokerStars had total online revenue of $8.6 million, off about $500,00 from April. They still account for the majority of poker revenue, with more than $2.2 million.
Wind Creek reportedly lost more than $1M in online slot play
Live! Philadelphia, the Cordish Companies‘ marquee PA casino, is still lagging in revenue with just $857K for the newest online player, live since last August. Slot revenue was just $809K in April, and table revenue was a tiny $47K, dead last.
But that beat the reported revenue for Wind Creek, which was reportedly negative more than $1 million.
According to PGCB figures, they lost more than $1.1 on their slots. They were on the plus side for table games with $102K. But that still put them in second to last in the tables category.
Lead image via Dreamstime.