The virus-related closure of Pennsylvania’s casinos may be a good thing, given that sports bettors took the books for a downhill ride in February.
Figures released Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) show the state’s 12 brick-and-mortar casino operators reported total gaming revenue of over $304.3m in February, a 13.75% rise over the same month last year and around $3.5m higher than January 2020’s total.
Parx Casino won February’s individual casino crown with overall revenue of $57.8m, up 17.5% year-on-year and over $20m higher than runner-up Wind Creek Bethlehem, which saw its revenue dip 12.2% from February 2019. Rush Street Gaming’s Rivers Casino Philadelphia placed third with $35m (+31.4%), just ahead of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh ($34.6m, +13%).
Statewide land-based slots revenue was up 5.1% to $199.7m, with Parx claiming the largest slice at $36.9m (+9.6%). Table games also had a solid month with $77.4m (+4.6%), with Parx again taking top honors with just over $17.6m (+17%).
ONLINE CASINO
The state’s online casino operators reported overall revenue rising nearly 40% from January to $19.5m, with online slots rising one-third to $9.6m, online table games nearly doubling to $8m and online poker falling to $1.83m, the second straight month of declines since December’s $2.5m (the first full month of online poker operations).
The Valley Forge Casino Resort and its FanDuel online partner claimed the largest slice of online casino revenue with $6.05m, an impressive showing considering their online casino offering didn’t launch until the last week of January. Rivers Philadelphia ranked second with $4.75m and Mount Airy Casino Resort – whose partner PokerStars operates the state’s only poker site – took third with $3.2m.
SPORTS BETTING
Statewide sports betting handle totaled $329.8m in February, down 5.3% from January’s total, marking the first month-to-month decline since the market launched in November 2018. Retail wagering was down around $4.1m to $35.6m while online handle dipped around $18.5m to $294.1m.
Overall betting revenue fared far worse, falling by nearly four-fifths to $4.7m. Retail revenue got hammered, falling from $4.9m in January to just $628k in February. Online revenue was down more than three-quarters to just under $4.1m.
Rivers Philadelphia won the betting month with revenue of $1.17m, while Meadows Racetrack & Casino ranked second with $1.07m and Parx placed third with $946k.
FanDuel’s handle dipped 9.5% from January, but its $138.5m was enough to retain the online handle crown. Rival DraftKings had another strong month, with online handle up 23.2% to $72.3m.
OTHER VERTICALS
The state’s ‘fantasy contests’ revenue inched up 4.5% from January to $1.7m, while the state’s two video gaming terminal operators saw their revenue rise one-fifth to a still modest $1.34m.
On Monday, the PGCB ordered the closure of the six casinos that had yet to shut their doors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no specified date by which the casinos are expected to reopen, but it will be interesting to track how great a surge the state’s online gambling options enjoy when the March revenue figures are released in mid-April.
