Data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) show that WSOP PA’s entry in the Keystone State gave the entire market a 23% boost, helping it reach $3.2 million in August.
August was the fourth-highest month for poker revenue since the market’s inception in late 2019, and it was the best month for the market since June 2020. Poker revenue peaked at $5.3 million in April 2020.
WSOP PA made huge inroads in August
It appears that, for now, WSOP going live in Pennsylvania has merely added to poker revenue’s overall total. But PokerStars PA, which had the market all to itself for nearly a year-and-a-half, continued to yield market share to WSOP, plus BetMGM Poker PA and Borgata Poker PA, which opened online poker rooms in April.
PokerStars and its land-based casino license partner, the Mount Airy Casino Resort, remained the state’s top online poker operator with $1.9 million in revenue and a 60% share of the market in August. But those figures were down from $1.9 million and 76% in July.
WSOP surged into second place through a series of successful promotions and events in August, its first full month of operations in the Keystone State. It grossed $819k and grabbed 25% of the market—significant gains for an operator that took in just $242k and had about 9.5% of the market for the previous, but incomplete, month.
Second-place BetMGM, through the Hollywood Casino license, grossed $346k in revenue in August. Borgata and its Rivers-Philadelphia partner made $117k. Both were modest revenue increases from July, and their market shares were mostly unchanged from 11% and 3.5% in July, respectively.
Rivers closes in on Hollywood in online casino
PGCB data show online casino revenue was essentially flat for the second month in a row, grossing $85.5 million in August.
Hollywood, through its BetMGM Casino PA, DraftKings Casino PA and Penn National/Barstool brands, kept atop the list of operators in the vertical, grossing $30.1 million in revenue and holding 35% of the market. But BetRivers Casino PA, Borgata Casino PA and PlaySugarHouse PA, all of which operate under the Rivers-Philadelphia license, closed in on Hollywood with $27 million in revenue, securing a 31.5% share.
Through its online partners, FanDuel and Stardust iCasino, Valley Forge Casino came in third with $14 million in revenue, enough for 16.5% of the market.
According to the PGCB, the remaining seven online casino operators combined for about $14.3 million in revenue and more than 16% of the market. Both figures were flat from July.
Sportsbook revenue down 11% year-to-year
Online sportsbook revenue was down 11% year-to-year and dropped nearly 12% month-to-month, reaching just under $22 million in August. It was also the lowest month for online sports betting since September 2020, when sporting events around the world were forced to be canceled due to the pandemic.
Barstool Sportsbook lifted Meadows Racetrack and Casino to $8 million in revenue and a 36.5% market share, essentially seizing control of the vertical from longtime leader Valley Forge Casino and its partner, FanDuel Sportsbook.
Valley Forge and FanDuel had their worst month of the year with just $5.7 million in sports betting revenue and less than 26% of the market. By comparison, the partners grossed $12.3 million and held 49.5% of the market the previous month.
