Pennsylvania’s online gambling industry shows a promising future with the surging revenues recorded over the past year. According to statistics released by the PA Gaming Control Board, there was a 293% rise in iGaming revenue in March 2021 compared to March 2020.
The rise from February’s gross revenue of $78 million to March’s $98 million was dramatic and unexpected. This revenue accounted for both online poker rooms and casinos but left out sports betting.
PA Witnesses a Successful Q1 2021
The significant change from March is partly attributed to February being a short month, but March’s revenue was still 11% up relative to the $80 million recorded in January. The Pennsylvania online gambling market is showing more robust and sustainable growth associated with mature markets.
Despite the PA online gambling market being just two years old, it is proving to be full of potential. The high monthly revenues indicate that the state is getting used to online gambling activities.
By adding the $26 million revenue collected from PA online bookies, the March total online gambling revenue rests at $124 million. Q1 2021 was a success for online casinos in the state. To find out more about the best PA online casinos, you can scan through the facts written in detail here.
As PA recovers from the impact of the 2020 pandemic, its retail casino revenue has begun to rebound as well. As a matter of fact, the Gaming Control Board’s headline concerning March 2021 was that the total gaming revenue exceeded $400 million. This is a 162% increase compared to March 2020.
Pennsylvania Online Gaming Market Share and Revenue Over the First Two Years
PA’s gross iGaming revenue trajectory has been soaring since the market inception two years ago. The market share has also shifted significantly over the same period. Top online casino operators and their affiliate brands have been dominating the PA online gambling market share.
From mid-2020, Rivers Philadelphia, Penn National, Mount Airy, and Valley Forge have contributed over 75% of the total PA iGaming revenue. Penn National’s dominance spiked in December of 2020 and transitioned to 2021. Rivers follow at close range as a fierce number two, followed by Valley Forge as a clear number 3, and Mt. Airy holds the fourth position.
In terms of revenue, the PA online gambling market witnessed rapid growth following coronavirus restrictions that saw brick-and-mortar casinos shut down. Operators invested heavily in launching online operations and live dealer games. The online market continues to grow, and in the last seven months of the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the revenue exceeded $100 million in five of those months.
Pennsylvania Online Gambling Revenue Highlights
Pennsylvania’s iGaming market closed Q2 2021 with gross revenue of $100.8 million recorded in June. The state passed the $100 million mark in December 2020, but it wasn’t until June that the adjusted iGaming revenue passed the mark. June’s figure represents taxable revenue after deducting free play promos.
However, June’s figure was a slight drop from May, which recorded a GGR of $113.7 million and a daily average of $3.6 million. June’s daily average was $3.3 million, indicating an 8.4% drop.
June’s revenue drop was the third-largest dip since the inception of the PA online gambling market in July 2019. The biggest dip was a 16% drop recorded in January, but we must consider the 45% spike recorded in December.
The second-largest dip was an 8.9% drop in June 2020 after the reopening of retail casinos. This dip came shortly after a 94% gain recoded in April, followed by May’s 24% increase. Unlike last year, the gains we are witnessing this year are not in response to unpredicted lows. They are basically the long-term gains that have been playing out throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
PA Sports Betting Revenue
Summer is often a slow season for sports betting, and it’s no surprise that PA bookies saw handle decline in June. Online sportsbooks raked in about $379 million in wagers, a 6.9% drop from May. On the other hand, retail sportsbooks saw a slight gain but still accounted for less than 10% of the total sports betting revenue.
However, it is surprising that sports betting revenue rose despite the drop in handle, all thanks to the increase in hold. Pennsylvania bookies managed to win over 10 cents for every dollar wagered, on average.
That’s a remarkable rate because hold usually resided in the vicinity of 7% and rarely deviates by over a percentage point or two. Significant deviations are only witnessed when there is a large amount of action on a single event like the Super Bowl.
As for individual sportsbook operators, BetMGM was the big winner. While operating on the Hollywood Casino Morgantown license from December 2020, BetMGM has managed to record a 15% handle gain in June and circa 50% revenue gains. Revenue wise, the operator holds a 7.5% market share, but it’s beginning to find its footing despite its late arrival.
Forecasts Indicate a Rosy PA iGaming industry
Despite land-based casinos in PA being closed for weeks due to COVID-19 restrictions, the state’s gambling sector witnessed a record-breaking year 2020/2021. According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the success was largely fueled by the iGaming market.
According to the state regulators, PA broke its record for gambling revenue, recording about $3.9 billion in the last fiscal year. Every wagering category showed significant growth in the country’s largest gambling state.
At this point, we can confidently state that the pace is already set for online casino operators in the state. Now that players are well conversant with the online gambling space, online casinos are experiencing high traffic, with both professional and novice gamblers frequenting these gambling sites.
Revenue wise, PA online casinos are doing quite well, and the momentum is expected to hold over coming years. Considering that the Pennsylvania online casino market just celebrated its second anniversary last month, there is still more untapped potential.
This explains why more operators are eyeing the PA iGaming market, as evidenced by the new debuts of online gambling platforms. The bottom line is that PA presents great business opportunities for any entrepreneur seeking to venture into the iGaming industry.
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