October was another record month for Pennsylvania casinos, with $450.2 million in total revenue, but it represented an even bigger milestone for the state.
One-third of that revenue came from online casino gaming, which generated an all-time high of $151.7 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) with $46.6 million in taxes.
In setting these records, Pennsylvania became the first state to reach $1 billion in online casino tax revenue. No other state has accomplished this feat, not even neighboring New Jersey, where online casino gaming has been legal since 2013. The first online casinos in the Keystone State launched in July 2019.
PA sportsbooks set records in October, too, thanks to five weekends on the calendar and a Phillies World Series appearance. Bettors wagered $797.1 million, beating the former record of $776.3 million from October 2021.
Higher taxes mean bigger winnings for the state
Pennsylvania’s tax rates for online gambling are some of the highest in the country, which has helped the state make nearly $1.04 billion in just over three years.
Online slots, which account for around 75% of all online gaming, are taxed at 54%. This is one of the highest rates in the nation and quickly adds up when factoring in hundreds of millions of dollars in GGR each month. Online table games and poker taxes are 16%.
(Note: the state also imposes a 36% tax on online sports betting revenue. To date, it has collected another $327.7 million from sports betting.)
New Jersey’s tax rate is 15% for all online casino games, less than one-third of what Pennsylvania taxes online slots. As a result, its lifetime online casino tax revenue is $901.6 million through October, or roughly $100 million annually.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania’s online casino market has grown to compete with New Jersey’s, all while it continues to mature and develop.
When multiplying these percentages by more than $100 million each month, you can see how Pennsylvania’s tax revenue has grown so large so quickly.
Three licensees account for three-quarters of lifetime revenue
Lifetime PA online casino revenue is just shy of $3.4 billion. Nearly $2.5 billion (73.5%) of that comes from slots, with table games ($795.9 million) and poker ($101.2 million) making up the difference.
Penn National, whose brands include Hollywood, DraftKings, BetMGM, PointsBet and Barstool Casino, has $1.18 billion in lifetime revenue. It is the only ten-figure licensee.
Rivers sits second, with nearly $900 million in lifetime revenue from its BetRivers, SugarHouse and Borgata brands. Valley Forge (FanDuel and Stardust) is third, now above half a billion.
Combined, these three licensees account for over 76% of all online casino revenue in Pennsylvania history. See below for a full breakdown of the numbers:
| Licensee | Total Revenue | Slots | Tables | Poker | Promos | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Penn National | $1,182,575,403 | $841,945,930 | $335,485,061 | $5,144,411 | $187,690,738 | $360,563,423 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | $899,173,153 | $786,970,282 | $110,551,013 | $1,651,857 | $155,077,326 | $313,693,118 |
| Valley Forge | $518,949,209 | $283,486,005 | $235,463,204 | $0 | $30,975,181 | $156,002,170 |
| Mount Airy | $288,724,836 | $156,338,845 | $48,817,315 | $83,568,677 | $78,344,778 | $57,461,896 |
| Parx | $191,900,841 | $165,794,373 | $26,106,468 | $0 | $38,005,892 | $63,753,368 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $121,142,200 | $106,898,356 | $14,243,844 | $0 | $49,602,844 | $29,001,167 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | $72,110,416 | $51,644,631 | $9,606,221 | $10,859,565 | $10,902,114 | $22,181,111 |
| Live Philadelphia | $48,772,204 | $42,437,034 | $6,335,170 | $0 | $8,794,823 | $16,823,510 |
| Wind Creek | $47,472,963 | $44,404,362 | $3,068,602 | $0 | $18,559,475 | $12,618,978 |
| Presque Isle Downs | $22,017,538 | $15,790,049 | $6,227,489 | $0 | $1,478,048 | $7,727,038 |
| Total | $3,392,838,764 | $2,495,709,867 | $795,904,386 | $101,224,510 | $579,431,219 | $1,039,825,778 |
iGaming and sports betting account for October’s increases
October’s $450.2 million total gaming revenue is a 5.71% increase YoY, but retail slots ($199 million; -2.11%) and retail table games ($79.8 million; -10.36%) showed diminishing returns.
However, iGaming slot revenue grew 22.05%, reaching $86.3 million for the month. Online table games revenue increased at a similar rate of 21.77%, totaling another $35.7 million. Best of all, sports betting revenue jumped 72.16%, taking in $40 million in the process.
Poker was the only iGaming vertical to show a YoY decline in October. Its $2.49 million revenue was down nearly 13% from last year’s $2.85 million.
Hollywood leads the charge once more
For online casinos, Hollywood retained the top spot with $64.3 million in GGR, up 44% YoY.
Rivers ($36.7 million GGR; +18%) was still second, though third-place Valley Forge ($27.1 million GGR; +38%) narrowed its margin from previous months.
Nobody else came close to these three. In fact, Parx ($5.9 million GGR; +27%) and Mount Airy ($5.7 million GGR; -22%) were the only others above $5 million in GGR for the month.
A full breakdown of the numbers:
| Licensee | Total Revenue | Slots | Tables | Poker | Promos | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Penn National | $64,289,132 | $46,770,151 | $17,210,167 | $308,814 | $11,584,925 | $19,336,989 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | $36,741,658 | $32,611,534 | $4,041,731 | $88,393 | $7,456,363 | $12,482,584 |
| Valley Forge | $27,112,571 | $16,379,489 | $10,733,082 | $0 | $3,718,230 | $7,668,085 |
| Parx | $5,859,880 | $4,912,186 | $947,693 | $0 | $1,146,114 | $1,921,685 |
| Mount Airy | $5,698,104 | $3,110,538 | $1,064,410 | $1,523,155 | $1,487,023 | $1,172,866 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | $3,778,568 | $2,505,278 | $702,435 | $570,855 | $383,592 | $1,190,857 |
| Live Philadelphia | $3,013,343 | $2,730,089 | $283,255 | $0 | $357,259 | $1,160,551 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $2,574,176 | $2,048,192 | $525,985 | $0 | $451,173 | $834,756 |
| Wind Creek | $2,354,651 | $2,193,329 | $161,322 | $0 | $622,545 | $764,080 |
| Presque Isle Downs | $293,932 | $266,223 | $27,709 | $0 | $877 | $129,146 |
| Total | $151,716,015 | $113,527,008 | $35,697,789 | $2,491,217 | $27,208,099 | $46,661,599 |
FanDuel and DraftKings top sportsbooks’ record month
October is proving to be the month to beat for sports betting, as a record handle of $797.1 million led to a 7.7% hold, good for $61.5 million in revenue. Of that total, $14.6 million went to the state in taxes.
Due to the hold, revenue sits third on the all-time list. One month earlier, sportsbooks’ $645 million handle came with an 11.7% hold, creating $75.3 million in revenue. The record now stands for a year after sportsbooks took in $84.9 million in November 2021 (from a $761.5 million handle and 11.2% hold).
Valley Forge ($292 million) and Hollywood Meadows ($231 million) accounted for nearly two-thirds of all action, with the vast majority of wagers taking place via their respective online sportsbook partners, FanDuel ($289.6 million)and DraftKings ($229 million).
See below for a complete look at sports betting numbers from October:
| Licensee | Online Brand | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge | FanDuel | $292,046,075 | $32,732,565 | 11.2% | $7,961,355 |
| Hollywood Meadows | DraftKings | $231,105,439 | $10,615,488 | 4.6% | $2,814,236 |
| Hollywood Morgantown | BetMGM | $56,151,112 | $5,268,662 | 9.4% | $501,055 |
| Hollywood Penn National | Barstool | $48,784,088 | $2,548,361 | 5.2% | $596,658 |
| Rivers Pittsburgh | BetRivers | $33,367,989 | $3,297,910 | 9.9% | $944,804 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | Caesars | $26,609,893 | $732,685 | 2.8% | $41,868 |
| Parx | Parx | $24,280,488 | $1,135,433 | 4.7% | $303,799 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | PlaySugarHouse | $22,125,556 | $1,534,761 | 6.9% | $509,216 |
| Hollywood York | PointsBet | $17,353,534 | $1,107,074 | 6.4% | $95,169 |
| Live Philadelphia | Betway | $11,438,638 | $971,890 | 8.5% | $349,880 |
| Mount Airy | Fox Bet | $10,308,596 | $392,082 | 3.8% | $109,170 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | Unibet | $7,553,097 | $429,622 | 5.7% | $87,741 |
| Live Pittsburgh | $4,781,762 | -$283,320 | -5.9% | -$101,995 | |
| Presque Isle | TwinSpires | $3,804,697 | $497,729 | 13.1% | $178,930 |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | $2,833,350 | $102,248 | 3.6% | $36,061 |
| South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook | $2,185,498 | $226,141 | 10.3% | $81,411 | |
| Downs at Lehigh Valley | $1,923,603 | $165,549 | 8.6% | $59,598 | |
| Parx Malvern | $471,318 | $44,697 | 9.5% | $16,091 | |
| Total | $797,124,732 | $61,519,576 | 7.7% | $14,585,047 |
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