The Pennsylvania online casino industry is shattering records left and right. PAOnlineCasino spoke with Shawn Fluharty, Minority Whip in the West Virginia House of Delegates, at the East Coast Gaming Congress (ECGC) this week. Fluharty gave an outsider perspective on Pennsylvania’s online casino industry and its impact around the area.
According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the Keystone State broke another US record by posting $181.5 million in online casino revenue in March.
Pennsylvania online casinos continue to set new heights for online casino revenue. Other states who seek to legalize online casinos can take Pennsylvania’s successful model.
Pennsylvania online casinos break US revenue record
Pennsylvania broke an online casino revenue record within the state for the fourth time in six months in March:
- October 2022: $151.7 million
- November 2022: $155.9 million
- December 2022: $166.9 million
- January 2023: $160.3 million
- February 2023: $162.3 million
- March 2023: $181.5 million
The Keystone State also broke a US record for three consecutive months from October to December, and then again in March.
Fluharty, also Vice President of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS), provided some commentary on PA online casinos from an outsider point of view.
“Pennsylvania is one of the largest markets. It’s a byproduct of Pennsylvania getting in early and there’s exponential growth, same with West Virginia,” Fluharty told PAOnlineCasino at the ECGC. “It really shows the model is working. Once you’re up and running for a period of time, it grows. It’s not a situation where all this money is being spent getting up and running and nobody shows up. The model is sustainable.”
Pennsylvania’s influence on West Virginia launching online casinos
Pennsylvania legalized online casinos in 2017 and officially launched in 2018.
West Virginia is one of six states that have legalized and launched online casino gaming. Fluharty was instrumental in the debut, as West Virginia brought online casinos to players in July 2020.
Because Pennsylvania was the second state to launch an online casino, Fluharty used the Keystone State as a model to utilize in West Virginia. However, Pennsylvania launching online casinos directly impacted West Virginia’s decision to move forward.
“Pennsylvania going green meant we needed to,” Fluharty said. “Why would we allow people to jump the border and participate in Pennsylvania? Having a neighboring state in the market is certainly influential.”
West Virginia is seeing similar growth to Pennsylvania online casinos
West Virginia is much smaller than Pennsylvania, so its revenue figures are much smaller, too. However, online casinos in West Virginia have experienced similar growth comparable to Pennsylvania.
West Virginia calculates revenue on a week-by-week basis. Here is the recent expansion of West Virginia’s online casino revenue:
- Oct. 22 to Nov. 19: $12.7 million
- Nov. 26 to Dec. 24: $12.5 million
- Dec. 31 to Jan. 28: $13.8 million
- Feb. 4 to March 4: $16 million
- March 11 to April 8: $15.8 million
Fluharty is attributing growth to advertising and the fact that so few states have online casinos. He said:
“What you’re seeing is the downriver effect of all this advertising. It’s kind of the cool thing to do now. With so few states with legalized iGaming, states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia will see continued growth because people in neighboring states want to participate.”
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