Record Month For Pennsylvania's Internet-type Casino Gaming

Overall gaming revenue up 2.7% over last year

HARRISBURG, PA:  PA Gaming Control Board reports show that the combined total revenue generated from all forms of gaming along with fantasy contests during January 2021 was $311,102,747, an increase of 2.73% compared to revenue generated in January 2020.

The Board is also reporting that revenue from Internet Casino Type Gaming of more than $80.4 million was the highest amount to date eclipsing the previous high set in December 2020 by 11% when revenue was $71,609,260.

Sources of gaming revenue regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board include slot machines, table games, internet gaming, sports wagering, fantasy contests and VGTs. The Board has posted separate reports for these types of gaming on its website. 

In its reporting of revenue for January, the Board notes that figures related to slot machine, table games and retail sports gambling in casinos along with Video Gaming Terminals encompassed just 28 days of the month. Casinos, however, continued to operator under various Covid-19 restrictions. Other internet-based games were operational for the full month of January.

The following chart compiles all revenue generated in January 2021 by casinos along with fantasy contests and video gaming terminals operated by other vendors and includes a comparison to total revenue generated last January.

Total tax revenue generated collectively through all forms of gaming and fantasy contests was $127,117,920* during January 2021.

January Revenue by Game Type

The Board is also providing a synopsis of revenue year-over-year by types of games: 

Slot Machine Revenue

January’s gross revenue from slot machines was $140,740,379, a 26.05% decrease in revenue when compared to the $190,311,646 generated in January 2020.

The number of slot machines in operation in January 2021 was 18,703 compared to 24,126 at the casinos in January 2020. 

Slot machine revenue for each of the casinos, with the percentage change reflected over the previous year, is as follows.

Tax revenue from the play of slots machines in January of 2021 was $72,856,608*.

Table Games Revenue

Table games revenue for January 2021 was $50,829,571, a decrease of -29.94% from January 2020, when revenue was $72,553,994.

Table games revenue for each of the casinos, with the percentage change reflected over the previous year, is as follows.

Total tax revenue from table games play during January 2021 was $8,184,160*.

Internet Casino-Type Gaming (iGaming) Revenue

Casino games offered online generated gross revenue of $80,413,132 during January 2021 compared to $13,957,539 in January 2020. The amount in January also easily eclipsed the previous high revenue month for Internet Casino-Type gaming in December 2020 of $71,609,260.

A breakdown of revenue of casino games offered online is as follows:

Tax revenue generated from internet gaming play during January 2021 was $32,246,329*.

Total iGaming revenue for each of the casinos during January 2021 and January 2020, if applicable, is as follows:

Sports Wagering Revenue

January 2021 total sports wagering handle was $615,294,827 or 12.16% above the December 2020 total of $548,590,065. At the same time, the taxable revenue figure for January 2021 was $33,970,396 or 0.26% below than December 2020 taxable revenue of $34,059,539.

January 2021 sports wagering total handle and revenue is as follows:

1Operated by Parx Casino

² Operated by Mohegan Sun Pocono

³ A breakout of the handle between retail and online sportsbooks can be found on the website report.

Sports wagering revenue for each of the casinos for January 2021 and January 2020, if applicable, is as follows:

¹Operated by Parx Casino

² Operated by Mohegan Sun Pocono

³ Retail sportsbook no longer in operation

Tax revenue generated from sports wagering during January 2021 was $12,229,342*.

Video Gaming Terminals

Total adjusted revenue for January 2021 for video gaming terminals (VGTs) was $2,240,782. By the close of January 2021, four VGT Terminal Operators were operating the maximum permitted five machines at 42 truck stop establishments.

Truck Stop VGT adjusted revenue for each of the terminal operators during January 2021 is as follows:

¹ operated VGTs in 24 establishments during January

² operated VGTs in 10 establishments during January

³ operates VGTs in 4 establishments during January

⁴ operates VGTs in 4 establishments during January

Tax revenue collected from the play of VGTs in January 2021 was $1,165,207.

Fantasy Contests

Fantasy Contests revenue was $2,908,488 in January 2021, an increase of 40.86% over January 2020, when revenue was $2,064,773.

Fantasy Contests adjusted revenue for each of the operators which had revenue for January 2021 and January 2020 are displayed in the following table:

Tax revenue collected from the play of Fantasy Contests in January 2021 was $436,273*.

*All 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 is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling at 14 land-based casinos, online casino games, retail and online sports wagering, and Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs) at qualified truck stops, along with the regulation of online fantasy sports contests.

The land-based casino industry in Pennsylvania consists of six racetrack (Category 1) casinos, five stand-alone (Category 2) casinos, two resort (Category 3) casinos and one mini-casino (Category 4).  Casino expansion will continue over the next couple of years with the anticipated openings of up to four additional Category 4 casinos. A significant job generator in the Commonwealth, casinos and the other types of Board-regulated gaming annually generate 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.