As the state’s fiscal year came to a close, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board published a record figure for yearly tax revenue - standing at over $2.3bn for 2022/2023.

Pennsylvania surged to one of its most successful months through January as a record online casino performance coupled with a sports betting ecosystem buoyed by five weekends of NFL action.

The Keystone State’s igaming space produced a best $130m performance in revenue through the month, with online casinos and poker rooms surpassing its previous high of $127.6m from one month earlier by 1.9 per cent. This also represented a 42.5 per cent uptick from $91.2m year-on-year.

Penn National, which includes the DraftKings, BetMGM, Barstool, and Hollywood casinos, topped online casinos with $51.2m in gross revenue. Rivers Philadelphia, which includes SugarHouse, Borgata, and BetRivers casinos, was second with $33.5 million. Poker generated $3.4m in revenue, with Mount Airy/PokerStars topping the charts with with $2.2m

Ultimately, online casino games and poker produced a record $108.3 million in taxable revenue, which yielded $44.6 million in state taxes and local assessments.

“The popularity of online casinos have had a positive effect on online sportsbooks, especially with apps like DraftKings, BetMGM, and Barstool that have a strong foothold in both,” said Katie Kohler, an analyst for PlayPennsylvania. “In essence, online casino gaming is the tide that lifts all boats.”

Pennsylvania sportsbooks generated $793.7m in wagers, which was up 29 per cent from $615.3m in January 2021. Handle rose 5.8 per cent from $750.4m in December and topped the previous record of $776.3m wagered in October 2021.

This won $53.4m in gross revenue, up 8.3 per cent from $49.3m in January 2021 and 17.9 per cent from $45.3m in December. After $21.2m in promotional spending, sportsbooks closed the month with $32.2m in taxable revenue, yielding $11.6m in state taxes and local share assessments.

Online sportsbooks accounted for $737.4m, or 92.9 per cent of the state’s handle in January. FanDuel was the market leader with $273.3m in wagers, or 34.8 per cent, which led to a state-best $25.1m in operator revenue.

DraftKings was second with $197.6m in wagers, yielding $8.4m in gross revenue, ahead of BetMGM’s $84.4m handle, producing $5.5m in gross revenue. Penn National’s Barstool-branded app was fourth with $74.7m in online wagers, yielding $3.4m in revenue.

Retail sportsbooks generated $56.3m in wagers in January, down from $57.1m in December, which yielded $5.8m in gross revenue, up from $2.8m. Rivers Pittsburgh led the way with with $9.2m in bets, topping Parx’s $8.3m handle.

“Pennsylvania’s sports betting growth has lagged behind similarly sized states like Illinois, but the growth has still remained consistent,” said Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayUSA

“Simply put, whether it’s sports betting or online casino gaming, more people are betting more often now than a year ago. And there is little reason to believe the growth will stop this year.”