The Keystone State continued to rebound throughout July, with sportsbooks capitalising on the return of major sports, online continuing to build momentum and land-based establishments returning to action.
Representing a month where all 12 casinos were in operation for all, or most, of the month for the first time since March when state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions were put in in place, Parx Casino leads the way with a 14.4 per cent total revenue increase to $59.8m (2019: $52.2m).
Online gambling generated $54.4m in gross operator revenue, or $1.8m per day in the 31 days of July, up from $50.1m in June, or $1.7m per day, generating $15.5m in taxes.
Online table games and slots produced $1.8bn in wagers, up from $1.7bn in June, resulting in $51.4m in revenue. Rivers Philadelphia led the online casino market with $15.4m in revenue on $612.1m in wagers, up from $15m in revenue on $567.3m in wagers in June.
“The pandemic has accelerated the maturity of Pennsylvania’s online gaming market dramatically,” noted Valerie Cross, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com.
“By comparison, it took New Jersey more than six years to top $50m of online gambling revenue in a month. Pennsylvania managed to do it in less than a year. That growth has been vital to the stability of Pennsylvania’s gaming industry.”
Retail and online sportsbooks generated $164.8m in wagers in July, representing a 85.1 per cent increase from $89m a month earlier and 177.7 per cent from $59.3m in July 2019, when online gaming was still in its infancy in Pennsylvania.
Gross revenue surged to $8.1m, up 22.3 per cent from $6.7m in June and 185.7 per cent year-on-year from $2.9m. July’s revenue produced $2.8m in state taxes.
“The return of baseball and the NBA were seminal moments for Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks, obviously,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com.
“There is no making up for what was lost during the shutdowns. But with online casinos sustaining incredible growth, major sports back in play, and retail casinos gradually reopening, the industry is thankfully moving forward.”
Online betting accounted for 94.3 per cent, or $155.4m, of July’s handle. FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino led the market with $68.8m in bets, up from $32.9m in June, generating $1.4m in taxable revenue.
Retail sports betting remained relatively slow in July with $9.4m in bets, up from $689,534 in June and yielding $1.3m in revenue.
“The key for sports betting going forward is obviously the health of the various major sports leagues in the US,” added Cross, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com.
“We saw with the Phillies that the pandemic can abruptly alter the sporting landscape. And with college football in jeopardy this fall, and the NFL still working through its plans, the fall remains quite uncertain.”
