Internet Gaming Segment Sees Significant Growth In April
According to the PA Gaming Control Board
HARRISBURG, PA: With land-based gaming options unavailable during the entire month of April, Pennsylvania operators saw a substantial increase in activity through online options for casino type games.
April 2020 revenue for online casino-type games which include slot machines, table games and poker jumped 73% over the previous month of March 2020. The biggest increase was within the slot machine segment in which revenue more than doubled going from $12,969,655 in March to $27,324,955 in April.
Other available games during the Coronavirus shutdown include online sports wagering and fantasy contests.
Closures of all Pennsylvania casinos and video gaming terminals in mid-March continued through all of April due to mandated restrictions to protect citizens from the Covid-19 virus.
Overall gaming revenue was down 84% in April of this year compared to April 2019. Tax revenue from all forms of gaming in April 2020 was $18,334,503.
The Board has posted separate reports for these types of gaming on its website, https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/ .
Internet Casino-Type Gaming Revenue
Casino games offered online generated gross revenue of $43,067,881 during April. That figure is 73% higher than the previous month of March 2020 when revenue was $24,884,830.
A breakdown of revenue from sites offered online is as follows:
Casino Operator
|
Total Internet Games
Revenue
|
Internet
Table
Revenue
|
Internet
Slots
Revenue
|
Internet
Poker Revenue
|
Rivers Casino Philadelphia
|
$13,706,460
|
$2,686,693
|
$11,019,767
|
n/a
|
Mount Airy Casino Resort
|
$10,448,579
|
$2,424,525
|
$2,770,750
|
$5,253,304
|
Valley Forge Casino Resort
|
$7,935,915
|
$3,836,818
|
$4,099,097
|
n/a
|
Penn National – HollywoodCasino.com
|
$4,554,645
|
$491,038
|
$4,063,607
|
n/a
|
Parx Casino
|
$4,113,932
|
$303,662
|
$3,810,270
|
n/a
|
Mohegan Sun Pocono
|
$1,833,398
|
$647,358
|
$1,186,040
|
n/a
|
Presque Isle Downs and Casino
|
$214,072
|
$99,682
|
$114,389
|
n/a
|
Harrah’s Philadelphia
|
$231,464
|
n/a
|
$231,464
|
n/a
|
Penn National – DraftKings.com1
|
$29,416
|
-$156
|
$29,571
|
n/a
|
Statewide Total
|
$43,067,881
|
$10,489,621
|
$27,324,955
|
$5,253,304
|
1figures include only test days of April 29-30
Tax revenue generated from internet gaming play during April was $17,271,366*.
Sports Wagering Revenue
April 2020 total sports wagering revenue from 13 retail and 9 online outlets was $2,883,471, which was 58% lower than March 2020 total of $6,889,255. The retail outlets were not operational during April but continued to make payouts on earlier determined wagers.
April sports wagering total handle and a breakout of revenue by casino is as follows:
Casino Operator
|
Total Revenue
|
Online Revenue
|
Retail
Revenue
|
Total
Handle
|
Valley Forge Casino Resort
|
$1,267,363
|
$1,267,608
|
-$245
|
$19,005,852
|
Meadows Racetrack and Casino
|
$706,589
|
$706,589
|
$0
|
$12,591,293
|
Rivers Casino Philadelphia
|
$308,307
|
$309,551
|
-$1,245
|
$5,917,313
|
Mount Airy Casino Resort
|
$229,469
|
$229,469
|
$0
|
$3,703,923
|
Parx Casino
|
$193,341
|
$193,662
|
-$321
|
$2,158,501
|
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh
|
$168,662
|
$190,013
|
-$21,351
|
$2,421,323
|
Mohegan Sun Pocono
|
$14,362
|
$14,362
|
$0
|
$92,521
|
Harrah's Philadelphia
|
-$557
|
-$557
|
$0
|
$28,155
|
Presque Isle Downs and Casino
|
-$4,066
|
-$4,066
|
$0
|
$97,107
|
Hollywood Casino at Penn National
|
$0
|
n/a
|
$0
|
$0
|
Oaks Race & Sportsbook1
|
$0
|
n/a
|
$0
|
$0
|
South Philly Race & Sportsbook1
|
$0
|
n/a
|
$0
|
$0
|
Mohegan Sun Lehigh Valley2
|
$0
|
n/a
|
$0
|
$0
|
Statewide Total
|
$2,883,471
|
$2,906,633
|
-$23,162
|
$46,015,988
|
1Operated by Parx Casino
2Operated by Mohegan Sun Pocono
Tax revenue generated from sports wagering during April was $1,038,049*.
Fantasy Contests
Fantasy Contests revenue was $167,254 in April 2020, a decrease of 91% over April of last year when revenue was $1,852,552.
Fantasy Contests adjusted revenue in April of the past two years for each of the operators licensed in Pennsylvania in 2020 and 2019 are displayed in the following table:
Fantasy Contests Operator
|
April 2020 Fantasy Revenue
|
April 2019 Fantasy Revenue
|
% Change
|
DraftKings
|
$123,748
|
$845,553
|
-85%
|
FanDuel
|
$43,506
|
$961,867
|
-95%
|
Yahoo Fantasy Sports
|
$0
|
$15,865
|
-100%
|
Sportshub Technologies
|
$0
|
$3,627
|
-100%
|
Boom Fantasy
|
$0
|
$371
|
-100%
|
Fantasy Draft
|
$0
|
$1,919
|
-100%
|
Draft
|
n/a1
|
$23,349
|
n/a
|
Fantasy Football Players Championship
|
$0
|
$0
|
-
|
Full Time Fantasy Sports
|
$0
|
$0
|
-
|
Statewide Total
|
$167,254
|
$1,852,552
|
-91%
|
1no longer conducting business in PA
Tax revenue collected from the play of Fantasy Contests in April of this year was $25,088*.
Overall
The Board is providing a synopsis of revenue year-over-year by types of games:
Type of Gaming Revenue
|
April 2020
|
April 2019
|
% Change
|
I-Gaming Slot Revenue
|
$27,324,955
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
I-Gaming Tables Revenue
|
$10,489,621
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
I-Gaming Poker Revenue
|
$5,253,304
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Sports Wagering Revenue
|
$2,883,471
|
$4,221,482
|
-32%
|
Fantasy Contests Revenue
|
$167,254
|
$1,852,552
|
-91%
|
Retail Slots Revenue
|
$0
|
$200,359,403
|
-100%
|
Retail Tables Revenue
|
$0
|
$77,448,426
|
-100%
|
Video Gaming Terminals Revenue
|
$0
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Total Gaming Revenue
|
$46,118,605
|
$283,881,862
|
-84%
|
*Tax revenue figures reflect amount generated prior to any adjustments by the PA Department of Revenue
About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling legalized under 2004’s Race Horse Development and Gaming Act and the Gaming Expansion Act of 2017. In addition to slot machine and table games gambling at land-based casinos, legal gaming regulated by the PGCB includes online casino games available to date on seven sites; sports wagering offered through sportsbooks at 13 retail locations and through nine online outlets; video gaming terminals (VGTs) at qualified truck stops; and, fantasy sports contests through eight providers.
The mature land-based casino industry in Pennsylvania currently consists of 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two smaller resort casinos. These facilities collectively employ over 16,000 people and, along with other types of Board-regulated gaming, has annually generated over $1.5 billion in tax revenue.
Additional information about both the PGCB’s gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/ . You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl .