A new report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) brings good news for everyone involved in the state’s igaming industry, as its online casinos have shattered their own record for the third time in three months.
With a record revenue of $204.2 million reported by PA online casinos in December 2023, a national record was broken as well, as the $200 million threshold was crossed for the first time by igaming operators in any state.
Operators in the Keystone State have been coming close to breaking this record for a few months now, with $187.3 million in revenues reported in September, $186.9 million in October, and $191.9 million in November last year.
With monthly revenues now finally going over $200 million, along with $70 million in taxes, the real question is just how high can the revenue from PA online casinos go and how much more interest can the operators pique from players in Pennsylvania in the coming year.
Slots Dominate as Online Poker Remains Small
It is no secret that online poker produces but a fraction of the overall revenue for casino operators, both live and online, but the numbers from Pennsylvania may come as a bit of a surprise to some.
Despite several major online poker operators offering their services to PA online poker players, only 1.2% of the overall revenue generated in December came from the online poker tables, amounting to just $2.4 million.
On the other hand, 76.4% of the overall take came from slot games, which brought in a total of $155.9 million in revenue, while table games contributed an additional $45.8 million, making up 22.4% of the overall number.
While these numbers may seem a bit out of whack, they are actually quite in tune with industry standards, as slot games typically generate more revenue than table games in online casinos, while poker continues to be just a slice of the igaming pie in US markets and abroad.
A Closer Look at the Numbers
Back when online gambling was first regulated in Pennsylvania in 2017, few could have predicted it could be bringing in $200 million in revenue and $70 million in taxes in a single month, but those are the numbers operators are working with right now.
PA online casinos have been bringing in close to $200 million a month for some months now, and with December in the books, the overall revenue generated by the PA online casinos has climbed up to $2.1 billion in 2023 alone, setting another record for the state and showing a massive increase on the $1.67 billion intake a year earlier.
What’s even more, the $70 million in taxes paid by casinos in December brings the overall taxes paid by igaming operators since launch to $2.03 billion, demonstrating the importance of the online gambling sector to state’s social agendas.
Of all the license holders in the state, it was Hollywood Penn National that contributed the most with $77 million in revenue, followed by Valley Forge at $51 million and Rivers Philadelphia with $38 million. Those three venues and their online casino apps generated a total of $165 of the $204 million in revenue, putting them far ahead of the competition.
It is worth noting that of the $204 million in revenue collected overall, operators paid just over $70 million in taxes, but also kicked some $39 million back to the players in the form of promotions and bonuses, providing plenty of value to the players generating the revenue as well.
