The Board noted that this single month amount was the first time the combined revenue exceeded $400 million. The previous high month was during October 2020 when revenue was $320.2 million. When combining the March 2021 amount to those of January and February of this year, it is also the first time that revenue topped $1 billion in a single yearly quarter.
In order to provide a fairer comparison of this month’s revenue figures, the Board also is reporting a comparison against March 2019 when COVID restrictions were not in place. In that comparison, this month’s revenue figures were 27% above that of March 2019 when the total revenue was $316,279,316.
Sources of gaming revenue regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board include slot machines, table games, internet gaming, sports wagering, fantasy contests and VGTs.
The following chart compiles all revenue generated in March 2021 by casinos along with fantasy contests and video gaming terminals operated by other vendors and includes a comparison to total revenue generated last March.
Revenue by Game Type
The Board is also providing a synopsis of revenue year-over-year by types of games:
Slot Machine Revenue
March’s gross revenue from slot machines was $199,290,530, a 127.60% increase in revenue when compared to the $87,562,756 generated in March 2020. Due to Covid19 restrictions in 2020 casino where closed the last half of the March.
When comparing slot revenue from March 2019 (pre-covid19 revenue) to March 2021 there was a 12% decrease with $226,597,681 in March 2019 compared $199,290,530 in March 2021.
The number of slot machines in operation in March 2021 was 19,727 compared to 24,104 at the casinos in March 2020.