Pennsylvania online gaming and sports betting drive YoY revenue growth in September

Pennsylvania casinos reported a 1% year-over-year revenue increase for September.

Total gaming and fantasy contests revenue across the commonwealth's casinos generated upwards of $284.2 million last month, up from $281.2 million in September 2019, according to new data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board released Friday. Total gaming revenue was down 8.5% from $310.7 million in August.

Parx Casino in Bensalem was the largest total revenue driver, generating more than $53.5 million. Among the casinos that saw the largest increase in year-over-year revenue were Mount Airy Casino Resort (up 50% to $23.4 million), Rivers Casino Philadelphia (up almost 33% to $36.5 million) and Valley Forge Casino Resort (up 32% to $22 million).

On the other hand, some casinos were considerably down in year-over-year September total revenues. This includes Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin in Farmington (down 34% year-over-year to $2 million), Rivers Casino Pittsburgh (down almost 30% to roughly $23.1 million) and The Meadows Casino (down almost 26% to $12.7 million).

Collectively, Pennsylvania’s casinos generated more than $119 million in tax revenue in September during the pandemic.

With NFL season back in September during the pandemic, total sports wagering handle across Pennsylvania hit nearly $462.8 million. That’s more than a 50% increase from year-over-year figures of $194.5 million. It’s also about a 27% spike in overall sports wagering handle from August 2020 figures of almost $365 million. However, total taxable sports wagering revenue for September neared $6.3 million — a 58% drop year-over-year figures of almost $14.9 million.

Online casino games generated gross revenue rising about $57 million last month in the highest single month of revenue to date for this gaming segment, as reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Comparatively, September 2019 revenue for this segment was just $4.1 million. Online casino games generated $24.3 million in tax revenue last month.

The increased interest in sports wagering and digital casino gaming helped offset some of the losses in other segments of the gaming industry. Across Pennsylvania's casinos, gross slot machine revenue in September was roughly $157.4 million, a 16.4% decrease from almost $188.4 million year-over-year. Similarly, traditional table games revenue last month hit $59.1 million, a 16.2% decline from September 2019 figures of $70.6 million.