Online casinos in Pennsylvania generated gross revenue of $54.4 million during July.
That’s 8.6% higher than in June. Revenue then was $50.1 million. June and July were both down slightly from PA iGaming’s peak revenue of $55.8 million in May.
Offering a longer perspective on the astounding online growth, a year ago, when there were only three online wagering options available in PA, the monthly revenue was just $812,000. And the highest revenue pre-pandemic closures came in at $19.5 million (in February).
Total gambling revenue $283 million despite ongoing virus recovery
In the larger context, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) figures show that total gaming and fantasy contests revenue generated during July was just under $283.1 million.
That’s a 0.6% increase over revenue generated a year ago, when it was $281.5 million.
July was the first time since state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions were put in place in mid-March that all 12 casinos operated for most of the month.
VGTs are back in the black, online poker continues a slide
With truck stop VGTs back in action in July and additional locations operating, those machines generated nearly $2.1 million in revenue.
The one down number was online poker at just under $3.0 million this July versus $3.2 million in June. In May, poker revenue was $4.6 million, down slightly from its peak of nearly $5.3 million in April. The sole site in the state remains PokerStars PA, with others expected to join soon.
Wind Creek, Live! new online players, with more to come
Wind Creek Bethlehem went live with an online casino on July 24 and generated just over $34,000 in revenue from online slots and table games for the month. Wind Creek’s Betfred-branded online sportsbook is expected to follow soon, possibly before the start of NFL. It’s also building a retail Betfred sportsbook.
A Live! online casino (PlayLive!) launched on Aug. 14 and will appear on next month’s revenue report. Sports betting should follow soon. And there are still more online betting sites on the way to PA.
Penn National, under the Barstool Sports brand, plans to launch retail and online sports betting in Q3.
Additionally, BetMGM/ROAR Digital is in the process of getting approval to launch an online casino, online sportsbook and online poker via partypoker, all expected before the end of 2020.
And finally, the WSOP.com online poker site is also heading to PA, though the exact timeline is unclear. That would leave just Golden Nugget to launch online slots and table games, but that could happen sooner than expected as well.
July online casino breakdown by PA operator
A complete breakdown of July revenue, including slots and tables games by operator (online gaming license holder), can be found here:
| Casino Operator | Total Revenue | Slots Revenue | Table Games Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers Philly* (SugarHouse & BetRivers) | $15,459,938 | $13,923,955 | $1,535,983 |
| Penn National* (Hollywood & DraftKings) | $10,752,504 | $8,321,348 | 2,431,156 |
| Valley Forge (FanDuel) | $8,405,186 | $4,402,474 | $4,002,712 |
| Parx Casino | $7,428,752 | $6,303,743 | $1,125,009 |
| Mt. Airy (PokerStars & Fox Bet) | $5,269,087 | $3,175,326 | $2,093,762 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono (Unibet) | $2,856,028 | $2,165,866 | $690,163 |
| Harrah's Philly (Caesars) | $831,865 | $805,815 | $26,050 |
| Presque Isle Downs (BetAmerica) | $327,875 | $321,815 | $6,061 |
| Wind Creek Bethlehem (launched July 24) | $34,414 | $25,409 | $9,005 |
| Totals: | $54.4 million | $39.4 million | $11.9 million |
Top iGaming sites in PA
Rivers Philly, which runs sister sites SugarHouse and BetRivers, had the top online revenue in July with $15.5 million. The majority came from slots.
Penn National, with Hollywood and DraftKings casinos, posted revenue of $10.8 million.
And Valley Forge‘s FanDuel accounted for $8.4 million.
Sports betting revenue
The statewide sports wagering revenue was over $8.1 million, with nearly $6.9 million from online sports betting and nearly $1.3 million from the still-recovering retail sportsbooks. That was up 22% over June revenue, with total sports handle up a whopping 85% month over month. In July, total handle was $164.8 million, compared to June’s $89.0 million.
The top two PA sports betting operators remain FanDuel (Valley Forge) and DraftKings (The Meadows). FanDuel took $69.7 million in bets in July, compared to DraftKings’ $39.6 million.
However, DraftKings was tops in total revenue at $1.9 million, with $1.8 million coming from online. FanDuel came in second with total revenue of nearly $1.4 million. It lost nearly $56,000 settling retails accounts, but made up for it with more than $1.4 million in online revenue.