In Pennsylvania, total gambling revenues fell from $304 million in February to just $153 million last month after the state's 12 casinos were all shuttered March 16. Add that loss to a $124 million dropoff from February to March in New Jersey, and a staggering $274 million in likely revenue was lost in just 16 days across the two states. Internet casino games in Pennsylvania generated $59.7 million in revenue in October, compared to $4.9 million last year when only three casinos had launched their online offerings. Sports betting, which is mostly conducted online, generated $36.8 million in revenue in October, more than double the $15 million booked a year ago.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s commercial casinos reached a new high in revenue last year, state regulators said Thursday, a record boosted by an aggressive new expansion of gambling authorized by state lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said revenue at the state’s 12 casinos, as well as through fantasy sports contests and video gambling terminals at truck stops, rose in 2019 by $146 million, or 4.5%, over 2018 to above $3.4 billion.
It was the fifth straight calendar year that casino revenue grew in Pennsylvania.
Slot machine revenue was the lion’s share of the revenue at almost $2.4 billion, but shrank about $7 million. Revenue from table games rose by about $25 million to above $900 million.
The 2019 figures had the benefit of the first results from online gambling, sports betting and video gambling terminals at truck stops.
Online gambling through the licensed casinos contributed almost $34 million while sports betting contributed $84 million. Video gambling terminals at truck stops contributed $2 million while fantasy sports contests contributed almost $26 million, up by $10.5 million from 2018.
Pennsylvania’s commercial casinos are No. 2 in the nation in gross revenue, after Nevada’s. Pennsylvania is No. 1 state in tax revenue from the casino industry, at about $1.5 billion.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pandemic-related shutdowns in Pennsylvania, the nation’s No. 2 commercial gambling state, helped knock casino revenue down by 18%, state regulators reported Thursday, and it would have been much worse without the advent of online gambling and sports betting.
Revenue from regulated gambling in Pennsylvania shrank to $2.7 billion in the just-finished fiscal year, down from a new record high above $3.3 billion a year ago, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Pa Dept Revenue Gambling Reporting
Revenue from slot-machine gambling was down by $680 million and table games were down by about $240 million, both nearly 30%. But online gambling contributed $240 million and sports betting brought in $114 million in the first full year for both in casinos’ portfolios in Pennsylvania.
The state’s 12 operating casinos spent much of the spring shut down, while online gambling went on. Online sports betting also continued, but was hobbled by the cancellation of sporting events during the pandemic.
Pennsylvania legalized both as part of an aggressive gambling expansion in 2017.
Pennsylvania was the nation’s No. 2 state for commercial casino revenue in 2019, behind Nevada, according to American Gaming Association figures. It was No. 1 in tax revenue from casino gambling last year, but the gaming board estimates that the state’s take will shrink to $1.1 billion from $1.4 billion in the last fiscal year.
Pennsylvania Casinos Revenue
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