More than a billion, yes, billion with a ‘B’ was wagered on online slots in May. Pennsylvania posted a staggering record for online slot wagering at $1,064,660,897 in May.
Online gaming climbs with land-based betting closed
Revenue was $38.8 million during the month for online slots. The amount wagered on interactive table games was $778.5 million, with revenue of more than $12.4 million.
Adding in the revenue of nearly $4.6 million for online poker in PA, iGaming revenue reached a record $55.8 million in May. PokerStars PA remains the sole live poker operation in PA.
Shuttered land-based wagering generated no revenue while online revenue set a record again for the fourth straight month.
Online sports wagering made a solid contribution given lack of action
Online sports wagering saw $77.5 million in wagers, with $5.9 million in revenue, remarkable given how few the sportsbetting options were in May. That’s a 69% increase from a year ago.
Tax revenue from all forms of gaming in May 2020 was $25.76 million.
Record for online
Gamblers adapted to retail shutdowns with online games – slot machines, table games, and poker – jumping 30% over April 2020, which was a record in its own right, according to data released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB.)
A complete breakdown of May revenue, including slots and tables games by operator (online gaming license holder), can be found here:
| Casino Operator | Total Revenue | Table Games revenue | Slots revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers Philly (SugarHouse & BetRivers) | $17.6 million | $2.5 million | $15.1 million |
| Valley Forge (FanDuel) | $8.0 million | $3.3 million | $4.7 million |
| Mt. Airy (PokerStars & FOXBet) | $6.3 million | $2.6 million | $3.7 million |
| Penn National (Hollywood & DraftKings) | $9.0 million | $1.9 million | $7.1 million |
| Parx Casino | $6.9 million | $1.4 million | $5.5 million |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono (Unibet) | $2.4 million | $607,000 | $1.8 million |
| Presque Isle Downs (BetAmerica) | $137,000 | $84,000 | $54,000 |
| Harrah's Philly (Caesars) | $931,000 | $30,000 | $901,000 |
| Totals: | $51.2 million | $12.4 million | $38.8 million |
Casinos begin to reopen in June
Land-based gaming options were all shuttered for the entire month. Three casinos have reopened so far in June. Schedules for reopening the remaining nine gambling halls are beginning to trickle in.
Due to the closures, overall gaming revenue was down 79% in May of this year compared to May 2019.
The more than $55.8 million May online casino revenue figure was more than double the revenue generated from those games in March when revenue hit nearly $24.9 million. All brick-and-mortar casinos were closed in PA by March 17.
Top interactive sites
The biggest interactive operators were Penn National, including sites Hollywood and DraftKings, Rivers Philly which includes BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse, and Valley Forge which partners with FanDuel.
Rivers Philly accounted for $17.6 million in revenue, $15.1 million coming from slots.
Penn National accounted for $9 million, with $7.1 million from slots. DraftKings debuted in PA on May 1, launching under the Penn online casino license.
And Valley Forge (FanDuel) had revenue of $8 million, $4.7 million from slots.
Next month will begin to show revenue for retail locations once again. The question is how much, given the shift to online wagering for three months.
