Pennsylvania Casino Revenue Dips, In-Person Losses Offset

Posted on: October 18, 2024, 09:42h. 

Last updated on: October 18, 2024, 09:42h.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) revealed in its September data report that brick-and-mortar casino play slowed year-over-year.

On Thursday, the PGCB reported that gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by retail slot machines totaled just shy of $197 million, a 1.5% decline from September 2023. Table games kept $73.4 million of players’ bets, or about 2.3% lower.

Combined, in-person casino gambling revenue of $270.4 million represented a 1.7% decline — a $4.7 million loss from what the state’s 17 brick-and-mortar casinos won on their physical slots and tables a year ago.

The Pennsylvania gaming report follows New Jersey which also showed an in-person revenue drop at the nine casinos in Atlantic City. September 2024 was considered a difficult comparable, as September 2023 had an extra Friday and Saturday, typically the two busiest days of the week for legacy casinos.

Online Bridges Gap 

The roughly $4.7 million decline in casino revenue experienced last month was easily offset online where iGaming and mobile sports wagering thrived.

Revenue from sports betting, which is primarily generated online through mobile wagering apps and website platforms, came in at $53.5 million, a 46% surge. The start of the NFL season largely went in the oddsmakers’ way, which fueled sportsbook income.

Slot-like video gaming terminals (VGTs) inside diesel truck stops added around $3.4 million, a 3.6% bump, to the overall state gaming revenue picture.

Along with retail casinos, the other September losses were online poker rake at $2.2 million, a 7% drop, and fantasy sports fees at $1.9 million, a nearly 5% decline.

In all, the Pennsylvania gaming industry won $505.87 million from gamblers last month, a growth of 6.2%.

Parx Remains on Top 

Parx Casino located about 20 minutes north of Philadelphia’s City Center in Bensalem is one of only two smoke-free casinos in Pennsylvania along with its satellite property Parx Casino Shippensburg.

In September, Parx won $30.2 million on its slots to lead the 16 other brick-and-mortar properties. Wind Creek Bethlehem was a distant second at $24.2 million. On the felt, Parx ranked second at $15.5 million to Wind Creek at nearly $18 million.

As for iGaming, Penn Entertainment’s online operations continued to dominate the online market with GGR of $47.2 million. Penn operates iGaming in Pennsylvania through its online Hollywood Casino integration with the ESPN Bet internet sportsbook.

Boyd Gaming’s FanDuel iGaming operation, licensed through a partnership with Valley Forge Casino Resort, was next at $33.7 million.

As for sports gambling, Valley Forge’s FanDuel Sportsbook took the most bets and won the most money with total revenue of $27.3 million. More than $26.6 million came from the book’s online operations.

Hollywood’s ESPN Bet was second with combined retail and mobile revenue of $18.8 million.