Pennsylvania: Gaming revenues for February stay steady due to igaming, new casinos

In a report released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, revenues for February totaled $301.98 million compared to $304.3 million in February 2020.

Doug Harbach, communications director for the PGCB, said the year-to-year numbers are similar because of “the continued growth of igaming, but also the addition of the Live! Pittsburgh and Live! Philadelphia casinos that were not operational last year.”

Revenues in the state may receive another boost in April. On March 15, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that capacity at casinos would be increased to 75%, up from the current 50% limit, on April 4.
For February, igaming revenues were $77.8 million compared to $19.5 million the previous year, an increase of 299.1%.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National in Grantville brought in the most igaming revenue with $27.9 million, a whopping 1,000% increase from the previous year’s total of $2.3 million. Rivers Casino Philadelphia followed with $17.99 million, up 278% from the $4.8 million gambled in February 2020. Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia experienced a 156.7% increase in igaming revenues, from $6.1 million to $15.5 million.

Slots were the most popular igaming option in the state, bringing in $50.5 million, followed by table games ($24.7 million) and poker ($2.5 million).
Sports betting revenues statewide were $16.4 million for the month, a 246.8% increase over the $4.72 million wagered in February 2020. The total handle in Pennsylvania was $509.5 million from both online and bricks-and-mortar sportsbooks. Valley Forge, whose sportsbook is operated by FanDuel, had the highest total handle, $179.1 million, and total revenue, $7.56 million.

Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli said the two daily fantasy sports companies – FanDuel and DraftKings – “continue to maintain their stranglehold” on mobile sports betting. Combined, the companies accounted for 61.3% of all mobile sports wagers, down slightly from 62.8% in January. Barstool Sports, which is operated by Penn National Gaming, was third with a 14% market share.

Parx Casino in Philadelphia led all commercial casinos with $47.1 million in revenue, a drop of 18.8% from the previous year’s $58.0 million.  The biggest increase was at Hollywood Casinos, where revenues soared 82.0% from $23.0 million in 2020 to $41.1 million this year.

Parx also led all casinos in slots revenue with $26.9 million, a decrease of 26.95% from $36.9 million, and table games revenue, $13.9 million compared to February 2020’s $17.6 million, a decrease of 20.8%.
Video gaming terminal revenue was $27.2 million. Fantasy contest brought in $2.04 million, with DraftKings at $1.17 million leading all fantasy vendors.