August was another solid month for Pennsylvania casinos, totaling $425 million in revenue across retail and online casino gambling, as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported.
These numbers represent a 4.24% increase from Aug. 2021, fueled primarily by iGaming and sports betting. More importantly, they show great promise for the rest of 2022 as football season is underway, with basketball and hockey soon to follow.
Some PA gaming verticals were up, while others were down
Sports betting saw the largest YoY increase for the month. Its $34 million adjusted gross revenue (AGR) was up 88% from Aug. 2021, when PA sportsbooks reported $18 million.
iGaming accounted for $104 million AGR ($75.7 million in slots, $28.7 million in table games). Slots were up 14% YoY, and table games were up nearly 50% from the $19.2 million a year ago.
Meanwhile, retail slots were down 4.07% YoY after announcing a $201 million AGR. This marks the second straight month in which retail slots were down 4% YoY after July gaming revenue showed similar numbers. Still, they remain the bread and butter of Pennsylvania casinos, making up 47% of the state’s monthly revenue.
Retail table games ($78.5 million AGR) also took a hit, down 9.11% YoY and only $2.7 million more than online slots.
Though they represent smaller pieces of the pie, PA online poker ($2.7 million AGR) and fantasy contests ($841,000 AGR) were down too, dropping 14.3% and 47.76%, respectively.
PA online casinos announce fourth strongest month
In light of iGaming’s positive August numbers, online casinos had their fourth-best month in state history with $131.7 million in gross gaming revenue.
Of that total, $100.2 million (76%) came from slots. Table games brought in another $28.7 million, and online poker represented the remaining $2.4 million.
The only months where online casinos outperformed August were earlier this year, from March through May. March’s $142.7 million still stands as the state’s best month.
Historically, March Madness and football season are the busiest months of the year, so we look forward to seeing that number challenged by the end of 2022. Here’s a look at the top four months in online casino revenue:
- March 2022: $142.7 million
- April 2022: $138 million
- May 2022: $136 million
- Aug. 2022: $131.7 million
Penn National and Rivers maintain their dominance
Penn National’s $55.4 million revenue accounted for 42% of the state’s market share, up from 40.1% in July. It has partnerships with some of the largest operators in the state, including Hollywood, BetMGM, DraftKings, PointsBet, and Barstool, and is routinely above 40% of monthly online casino revenue.
Rivers ($33.5 million) was again second by a wide margin. Its BetRivers, SugarHouse, and Borgata brands made up another 25.4% of revenue for the month, roughly the same as July’s 25.9%.
Valley Forge ($19 million), whose brands include FanDuel and Stardust, finished third for the month with 14.4% of all revenue. Combined, the three totaled $107.9 million, nearly 82% of August’s iGaming revenue. Look below for a full breakdown of the numbers:
Licensee Total Revenue Slots Tables Poker Promos Taxes
Hollywood Penn National $55,382,429 $40,861,444 $14,217,714 $303,270 $11,460,252 $16,139,366
Rivers Philadelphia $33,525,757 $30,017,122 $3,398,256 $110,379 $6,723,837 $11,508,256
Valley Forge $19,034,055 $11,262,559 $7,771,496 $0 $1,294,685 $5,928,340
Mount Airy $6,278,050 $3,510,367 $1,077,333 $1,690,350 $1,439,136 $1,413,756
Parx $6,222,080 $5,373,804 $848,276 $0 $1,461,578 $1,974,470
Harrah's Philadelphia $3,470,639 $2,456,763 $377,912 $635,964 $260,183 $1,187,147
Live Philadelphia $3,040,702 $2,676,291 $364,411 $0 $534,348 $1,065,019
Wind Creek $2,417,716 $2,232,714 $185,002 $0 $831,391 $688,222
Mohegan Sun Pocono $1,910,653 $1,546,897 $363,757 $0 $514,300 $543,522
Presque Isle Downs $420,359 $302,621 $117,737 $0 $2,389 $159,947
Total $131,702,440 $100,240,582 $28,721,895 $2,739,963 $24,522,098 $40,608,044
Hollywood, Valley Forge each have big months
On the retail casino side, Hollywood Casino at Penn National led the state in revenue for August with $60.9 million AGR, up 22.35% from Aug. 2021’s $49.8 million. With the boost, Hollywood surpassed Parx, whose $56.3 million AGR was down 4.9% from its reported $59.2 million last August.
Rivers Philadelphia ($45.1 million AGR) and Wind Creek ($42.8 million AGR) followed, with Valley Forge ($42.7 million AGR) nearly surpassing them, thanks to its 47.92% YoY increase.
Other winners for the month included Hollywood Meadows ($25.3 million AGR; +5.97%), Live! Philadelphia ($21.7 million AGR; +1.88%), Hollywood York ($8.4 million AGR; +76.11%), and Hollywood Morgantown ($7.5 million AGR; +652%).
The remaining casinos had down months: Rivers Pittsburgh ($29.3 million AGR; -6.74%), Mount Airy ($23.1 million AGR; -3.96%), Mohegan Sun ($18.9 million AGR; -13.58%), Harrah’s Philadelphia ($17.5 million AGR; -8.25%), Presque Isle Downs ($10.3 million AGR; -15.6%), Live! Pittsburgh ($9.3 million; -1.99%), and Lady Luck Nemacolin ($1.7 million AGR; -47.76%).
Top PA gaming operators in August
Top three PA casinos for retail slot revenue in August
- Parx: $32.4 million (-10.69% YoY)
- Wind Creek: $23.2 million (-6.42% YoY)
- Rivers Pittsburgh: $22.4 million (-4.65% YoY)
Top three PA casinos for retail table games in August
- Wind Creek: $17.77 million (-6.25% YoY)
- Parx: $17.76 million (-1.46% YoY)
- Live! Philadelphia: $8.5 million (-0.98% YoY)
Top three PA online casino operators in August
- Hollywood Penn National: $55.4 million (+57.82% YoY)
- Rivers Philadelphia: $33.5 million (+8.86% YoY)
- Valley Forge: $19 million (+24.62% YoY)
Top three PA sportsbooks
The Keystone State is one of the nation’s biggest and busiest sports betting markets, proving so once again with $363 million wagered in August. Revenue was up 27% MoM, totaling $42.1 million (11.6% hold).
Out of the 14 legal sportsbooks in Pennsylvania, these had the most action:
- FanDuel: $130.9 million handle, $16.9 million revenue (12.9% hold)
- DraftKings: $90.7 million handle, $10.5 million revenue (11.6% hold)
- BetMGM: $38.9 million handle, $3.8 million revenue (9.7% hold)
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