Pennsylvania Sees Revenue Growth for Land-Based and iGaming Operators in January

Pennsylvania experienced a remarkable January, as revenue from all gaming sources in the state surged by nearly 11%. While iGaming numbers this month vs. January of last year were up by almost a third, it didn’t seem to cannibalize land-based gaming, where retail slots increased revenue by 4.6%, and retail table games were up nearly 1.5%

This broadly matched iGaming and retail-based casino revenue in January in other states where both are legal, like New Jersey, where land-based casinos continue slow and steady growth, but iGaming is up 20% or more.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania shared another significant data point: an unforeseen downturn in sportsbook revenue. The Keystone State saw a decline of 26%, while neighboring New Jersey saw a 29% decline.

PA online casino table revenue was $48.9 million, up almost a third from this time last year. Still, the genuinely eye-watering number was iGaming slot growth, with revenues of 158 million and a jump of 44%. 

Compare this with land-based slot revenue of 187.8 million and table games revenue of $73 million. It becomes evident that while iGaming’s gross revenue number of $210 million is gaining on the retail casino’s $261 million in reported monthly revenue, it will be a while yet before it surpasses it, which was what happened in New Jersey in January for only the second time since iGaming started way back in 2013, when online revenue of $221 million surpassed retail gaming’s $210 million.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course led the iGaming market with nearly $80 million in total revenue, up almost 58% year over year. Valley Forge Casino followed in second place with $57 million, growing 38%. In third place was Rivers Philadelphia, generating $35 million with a more modest 20% increase.

For sports betting, Valley Forge Casino held the top spot despite a 27% revenue decline, bringing in over $28 million with an 8.4% hold rate. Hollywood Casino at the Meadows came in second with $15 million, down 21%, and a 6.7% hold rate. Hollywood Casino Morgantown secured third place with $3.4 million in revenue, despite holding less than 5% of its $68.7 million in sportsbook wagers. 

Predicting what the February numbers may look like for sportsbooks is hard. A record $100 million was wagered in Pennsylvania on the Super Bowl alone in February as the hometown favorite Philadelphia Eagles trounced the Kansas City Chiefs. 

It stands to reason that most of the commonwealth had a bet on the Eagles, who covered the spread easily. But was the increase in wagers and all of the associated bets on parlays, prop bets, and over/unders enough to make up for the money the books certainly lost on the straight-up and spread bets on the winner? We will find out this time in March.

As for iGaming, it will likely continue its double-digit expansion year over year in February. However, there is some evidence that bad weather kept people betting on their phones vs. in brick-and-mortar establishments in January, which accounted for some of its surging growth last month.

Depending on February forecasts, that trend may abate, or with a major storm, it may only worsen, but as spring comes, look for some increased brick-and-mortar growth, especially at major resorts, and a slight downward momentum in what has been just unstoppable iGaming growth.