Pennsylvania Sees Record Gambling Revenue in July

Gambling revenue in Pennsylvania grew to a record $423.8 million in July, a 49.7% year on year increase with growth across all sectors.

The previous record of $413.2 million was set in May this year and July’s figure was far higher than the $283.1 million of July 2020. This huge year on year increase was partly down to the reopening of land casinos. Many restrictions arising from the coronavirus pandemic have now been removed, allowing players to return casinos in larger numbers.

Online gambling for July brought in $88.7 million, up 63.1% from last year. Online slots revenue made up the majority of this at $63.2 million, followed by online table game revenue of $22.9 million and online poker revenue of $2.6 million.

Most of the revenue, $32.1 million, came from The Hollywood Casino at Penn National, followed by Rush Street Interactive partner Rivers Casino Philadelphia with $25.8 million and FanDuel partner the Valley Forge Casino Resort with $14.2 million.

Sports betting revenue shot up 145.7% year on year to $19 million as the sports calendar returned to normal. Online revenue was $17.2 million and retail revenue was $2.7 million. The state’s handle was also up 84.7% to $304.4 million; however, this was the smallest monthly amount since July last year.

The Valley Forge Casino was at the front of the market with $9.6 million in sports betting revenue for the month, followed by the Meadows Casino at $2.9 million and Hollywood Casino at Penn Nation with $1.9 million.

Revenue was also up from fantasy sports. It grew 69.6% to $1.6 million with DraftKings at the head of the sector with $831,907 in revenue, ahead of its rival FanDuel, which had $729,606.

The main source of gambling income was land casinos. Retail slots revenue increased 35% year on year to $222.9 million and retail table game revenue was up 65.5% to a record $86.9 million. Revenue from video gaming terminals increased 81% year-on-year to $3.8 million.