Gaming is fully back in Pennsylvania, according to September revenue numbers.
And while casino properties have staged a recovery, the online play remains a huge revenue stream driver despite the reopening of physical properties, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) figures show.
Online casinos (including online slots, online table games, and poker sites) produced $111.8 million in gross gaming revenue in September. That’s the second-most ever and seventh month in a row with gross gaming revenue above $100 million.
The monthly record of $113.8 million was set in May.
Total gaming revenue from all sources was up 45.58% year-over-year, from $285.5 million a year ago to $415.6 million this September.
Retail revenue
Retail remains huge, with $199.9 million in September slot revenue, up from $157.4 million a year back and table revenue at $84 million, up from $59.1 million.
Operators have seen online and retail work together when tied to brands and reward card offers.
Online gaming revenue
September iGaming revenue represented a 61.3% increase from a year ago when revenue was $69.4 million. It was also up 8.4% over August’s $103.2 million.
The online win (AGR) for September came in at $97.8 million of taxable revenue, yielding $41.7 million in state and local taxes.
Online casino and poker sites generated $3.7 million in gross gaming revenue a day over the 30 days of September. That’s up from $3.3 million per day in August.
Poker revenue from four sites up year-over-year
Poker by itself accounted for $2.9 million from the four sites with Mount Airy’s PokerStars still dominating with $1.9 million in revenue.
Following poker sites were:
- WSOP.com (Harrah’s Philadelphia): $603,466
- BetMGM (Hollywood Casino Grantville): $270,816
- Borgata (Rivers Philadelphia): $93,775
A year ago, poker accounted for about $2.4 million from just PokerStars.
PA online casino operator revenue in September 2021
| Licensee | Online Brand(s) | Total Revenue | Slots Revenue | Table Games Revenue | Poker Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Penn National | Hollywood | DraftKings | BetMGM | Barstool | $42,992,653 | $28,998,279 | $13,723,557 | $270,816 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | SugarHouse | BetRivers | Borgata | $31,110,443 | $27,335,188 | $3,681,480 | $93,775 |
| Valley Forge | FanDuel | Stardust | $16,714,794 | $10,738,251 | $5,976,544 | $0 |
| Mount Airy | PokerStars | $7,259,334 | $4,127,699 | $1,174,848 | $1,956,788 |
| Parx | Parx | $4,135,579 | $3,711,302 | $424,277 | $0 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | Caesars | $3,027,604 | $1,968,673 | $455,465 | $603,466 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | Unibet | $2,526,517 | $2,286,049 | $240,468 | $0 |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | $1,954,257 | $1,774,073 | $180,184 | $0 |
| Presque Isle | TwinSpires | $1,261,785 | $886,935 | $374,850 | $0 |
| Live Philadelphia | PlayLive | Betway | $962,615 | $851,029 | $111,586 | $0 |
| Total | $111,945,582 | $82,677,476 | $26,343,260 | $2,924,846 |
Penn National and Rivers Philadelphia remain atop the online revenue leaderboard
Penn National and its iGaming brands – DraftKings, BetMGM, Barstool, and Hollywood casinos – dominated with $43 million in gross revenue.
Rivers Philadelphia – with SugarHouse, Borgata, and BetRivers – remained in the second position with $31.1 million.
Sports wagering
Overall, the sports wagering handle for September 2021 was $527.4 million
The total sports handle the year before was nearly $462.8 million, and that was more than double September 2019, when the handle was just $194.5 million.
The taxable sports wagering revenue figure for September 2021 was $28.2 million, or 351% higher than the September 2020 taxable revenue of $6.2 million.
This September, FanDuel Sportsbook (via Valley Forge Casino) accounted for nearly 35 percent of the handle or $183.6 million. FanDuel also had the highest hold percentage at 11.6% with revenue of $21.2 million.
The average hold across the board among 13 operators was 7.8%. Promo spending remained large at $19.6 million, with FanDuel/Valley Forge giving away $7.2 million.
State and local taxes from sports betting for September were $7.5 million.
VGTs up and fantasy flat
Four operators of 295 video gaming terminals or VGTs were up about $1 million from a year ago.
This Sept. VGT revenue was $3.4 million led by nearly $2.2 million from Penn National’s Marquee. It was just under $2.4 million in 2020.
Fantasy contests were flat year-over-year at about $3.2 million.
Lead image via Dreamstime.