One month into the new fiscal year, Pennsylvania is off to a great start as it looks to build upon record gambling revenue from the year prior.
According to data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), online casino revenue fell slightly to a still very respectable $86 million in July. Still, that was down from the $86.5 million grossed in June and a peak of $98.6 million in May, and online casino revenue overall fell to its lowest total in the last five months.
And while PGCB data also shows that sports wagering went off a cliff in July, that was likely due to a dearth of events to bet on. Sports betting declined 33.5% month-to-month but should rebound with the coming NFL season and the MLB post-season.
Hollywood, Rivers, Valley Forge … Again
For the eighth consecutive month, Hollywood Casino and its license partners—BetMGM Casino PA, DraftKings Casino PA and Penn National/Barstool—led all operators, grossing $31.8 million in revenue and taking 37% of the market. Both figures were down from June, when Hollywood and its partners brought in $34.5 million and held a 40% market share.
Just behind Hollywood in terms of revenue and market share, and also for the eighth consecutive month, were the land-based Rivers-Philadelphia Casino and its partners. BetRivers PA, Borgata Casino PA and PlaySugarHouse PA propelled Rivers to $25.7 million in revenue in July, down from $23.3 million in June. But Rivers still saw its market share increase to 30%, up from 27%.
Valley Forge Casino and its partner operators—FanDuel and Stardust Casino—have been stuck in third place in Pennsylvania for the past year and three months. The partners made $14.2 million and held 16.5% of the market in July, but both of those figures were down slightly from June, when they made $15 million and had 17.5% of the market.
Most Smaller Operators Up in July
Meanwhile, among the smaller operators in the Keystone State, only one—Caesars Interactive—saw decreased revenue and market share in July.
Caesars saw its online casino revenue fall to $1.1 million in July, down from $1.7 million in June. The operator’s market share also slipped to 1.3%, down from 2%. Caesars owns WSOP and Harrah’s and utilizes the land-based casino license of Harrah’s of Philadelphia to offer online casino games in the state.
Parx Casino remained the biggest of the smallest operators, grossing $4.2 million and holding 5% of the market, up from $3.6 million and 4% in June. Mohegan Sun and its online partner Unibet also fared well, bringing in $2.5 million for 3% of the market in July, compared to $2.1 million and 2.5% the month prior.
Presque Isle and its online partner, TwinSpires Casino PA, grew its revenue to $1.1 million in July, up from just $490k in June. Wind Creek and the Live! Philadelphia Casino—the latter of whom is partnered with PlayLive! Casino PA and Betway Casino PA—increased their revenue to $1.4 million and $754k, up from $1.3 million and $749k, respectively.
Sports Betting Takes a Nosedive
Sports betting plummeted to $24.9 million in July, down from $37.6 million in June. It was the lowest month for online sports betting since September 2020, when the pandemic forced the cancellation of sporting events around the world.
Valley Forge and its sports betting partner, FanDuel, remained atop the field with $12.3 million in revenue and a commanding 49.5% share of the online sports betting market, down from $19.7 million and 52.5% in June. Meadows Racetrack and Casino, partnered with DraftKings, came in a distant second at $4 million and 16.2%—down from $6.4 million and 17% in June.
The next two sportsbooks, in terms of market share and revenue, displayed numerous similarities between June and July.
Hollywood and its sports betting partner, Barstool Sportsbook, had $2.3 million in revenue and about a 9% market share in July. So, too, did Hollywood Morgantown, which is partnered with BetMGM Sportsbook. And both operators had revenue of $3.2 million and 8.5% of the market in June.
