Pennsylvania

Online casinos and poker rooms across Pennsylvania surged to a US record through March, as sports betting also secured a best performance for a month that lacks any NFL action.

The former produced $142.7m in gross revenue, which is up 27.9 per cent from $111.6m in gross gaming revenue in March 2021 and 15.4 per cent from $123.7m one month earlier.

This not only ensured that the Keystone State surpassed its previous high of $129.99m generated in January, but also broke New Jersey’s previous US best of $137.9m that was set in January.

Online casino games alone produced $139.5m in revenue on $4.3bn in wagers, with poker generating $3.2m in revenue led by PokerStars’ $1.9m.

The pace of igaming entities across the region rose to $4.6n in revenue per day over the 31 days in March, up from the record $4.4m per day over the 28 days of February. 

This created $118.1m in taxable revenue after $24.6m in promotional spending that yielded $49m in state taxes and local assessments.

Penn National, which includes DraftKings, BetMGM, Barstool, PointsBet, and Hollywood casinos, led all online casino licensees with $55.2m in gross revenue, trailed by Rivers Philadelphia, which boasts PlaySugarHouse, Borgata, and BetRivers casinos, with $37m.

“The most interesting question that is still outstanding for online casinos is where is the ceiling,” noted Katie Kohler, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania. 

“There are broader economic concerns that could affect the market. But right now it appears Pennsylvania’s market still has more room for growth.”

Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks attracted $715m in wagers in March, up 27.6 per cent from $560.3m from March 2021. The month’s betting also increased 19.7 per cent from $597.1m in February.

March’s bets produced $48.5m in gross revenue for sportsbooks, an uptick of 18.2 per cent from $41m in March 2021 and 118.9 per cent from $22.2m in February. 

When including $18.1m in promotional spending, Pennsylvania sportsbooks brought $30.4m in taxable revenue, yielding $10.9m in state and local taxes.

This means that the state’s sports betting enterprises have generated $1bn in revenue on $13.7bn of wagers since beginning the activity in late 2018, and joins New Jersey and Nevada in surpassing the landmark.

“Of all the states that have legalised and regulated sports betting over the last four years, few can claim the level of maturity that Pennsylvania has reached,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayUSA.

“This is a stable market that is still showing healthy growth, even if some newer markets garner more attention now.”

Online sportsbooks accounted for $667m, or 93.3 per cent, of the state’s handle in March, led by FanDuel and trailed by DraftKings, BetMGM, and Penn National’s Barstool.

Retail sportsbooks took in $48m in wagers in March, which produced $5m in gross revenue. Live Philadelphia led the way with $6.7m in wagers.

“With the NBA playoffs, baseball, and major golf tournaments the main attractions, sportsbooks now enter the slow season,” Gouker added. 

“But the last six months have produced a significant leap forward, with wagering that never really fell below $600m. Better yet, the industry can look forward to a football season this year that should bring even bigger numbers.”