Online casino revenue more than doubles in Pennsylvania since March

As land-based casinos remained closed during the entire month of May due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania operators saw substantial increases in activity through online options for casino type games.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said Tuesday that revenue for online casino gaming, which include slot machines, table games and poker, jumped 30% in May over the previous month.

The significant increase in online gaming during the Covid-19 shut down of casinos was reflected by the jump in revenue in just two months. The $55,838,789 May online casino-type revenue figure was more than double the revenue generated from those games in March when revenue amounted to $24,884,830.

Overall gaming revenue was down 79% in May of this year compared to May 2019. Other available games during the Coronavirus shutdown include online sports wagering and fantasy contests. Online sportsbooks generated $77.5 million in wagers in May, up 68.4% from April's $46 million handle. May's handle yielded $4.8 million in gross revenue, up from $3.2 million in April, and $1.6 million in state taxes. Tax revenue from all forms of gaming in May 2020 was $25,762,836.

All casinos in Pennsylvania were shut down in mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Three of the state’s 12 casinos (Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Meadows Casino in Washington County and Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin) have reopened so far in June, with three more scheduled for reopening in the next week. Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course reopens Friday and Mohegan Sun Pocono on Monday. Mount Airy Casino Resort also has the green light to reopen with Monroe County set to go green this Friday but as of Tuesday, the casino has not yet revealed its plans to reopen.

Reopening dates for the other six casinos will be established based on Governor Tom Wolf’s county-by-county plan to phase in business openings.