Despite continuing growth in igaming and sports betting, Pennsylvania's total market revenue fell in July, continuing a year-on-year trend in land-based gambling.
Online gambling in Pennsylvania The month of September
The Gaming Control Board of Pennsylvania reported that the state's gambling revenues reached $500.8 million (£384.2 million/€450.2 million) in July. This is up 6.1% from June of this year and 7.2% from the same month last year.
Retail slot machine revenue fell 4.8% year-on-year to $204.3m, but it is still the largest contributor to Pennsylvania's gaming coffers. Even though it declined 4.8% to $79.4m, land-based table revenue was third overall.
Online gambling earns over $174.3 million in July
When it comes to igaming, or online gambling, the expansion in Pennsylvania seems to be unstoppable. Total igaming revenue for July was $174.3m, up 31.2% year-over-year.
With an increase of 32.2%, online slots contributed $125.4m to the total. While income from online table games increased by 31.7%, revenue from online poker decreased by 13.0% to $2.3 million.
With $64.0m in revenue, an increase of 17.7 percent, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course maintains its position as the leading igaming market participant. Rivers Casino Philadelphia came in third with $29.8 million, followed by Valley Forge Casino Resort with $45.5 million.
Revenue from sports betting in Pennsylvania increases by 20.2%
July was yet another banner month for Pennsylvania's sportsbooks, with total handle increasing 22.5% year over year to $414.7m from both online and retail venues. The vertical's revenue reached $52.7m, standing at a 12.7% hold.
Still, taxable income came to $38.6m, up 20.2% from last year, after deducting $14.2m in promotional credits. While retail operators brought in $3.2 million, $35.3 million came from internet sports betting.
Pennsylvania's sports betting market remains dominated by FanDuel, in partnership with Valley Forge Casino Resort. From $166.4 million spent in July, FanDuel reported $17.9 million in wagering revenue after promotional expenditure, an increase of 31% and a decrease of 10.8%.
Second place goes to DraftKings, which brought in $10.5 million in revenue from a 9.5% hold and a handle of $110.4 million. With $1.9 million in monthly revenue, BetMGM came in a distant third.
Approximately $3.5 million, or 4.3% of total gambling income, came from VGTs. Also, there was a 9.0% rise, or $714,971, from fantasy sports.
How does Pennsylvania's tax revenue stack up?
During the month, tax receipts in Pennsylvania totalled $207.7 million. There was an increase of 8.2% from July of the previous year.
With a levy of 54% on GGR, slot machines produced the highest amount of tax revenue at $103.2m. The additional $13.1 million was generated by the 14% tax on land-based table gaming.
Although online slots likewise pay a 54% rate, the regulator did not divide this down by game type when calculating the overall tax for igaming, which was $75.5m. Video gaming terminals brought in $1.8 million, fantasy sports $107,246 and sports betting $34 million in GGR tax.
But twelve casinos in the state want to use taxes as a weapon to crack down on unauthorised skill games. Since skill game operators are exempt from paying taxes, the licensees are requesting that the Supreme Court rule that the 54% slot tax is illegal.
The number of unlicensed slot-like games in operation in the state could reach 100,000, according to some estimates. In their case, the casino owners say that there is no justification for taxing licensed businesses on half of their slot machine profits while enabling illegal businesses to avoid paying any taxes at all.
