Pennsylvania casinos were in record-setting form in the month of March, while sports betting revenue rebounded from its February doldrums.
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) announced that the state’s 12 active casino licensees reported combined slots and gaming table revenue of $309.1m, a nearly 2.9% improvement over the same month last year.
March’s gaming revenue also eclipsed the state’s previous monthly revenue record of $300.5m, which was also set in March 2018. The two March results are the only occasions on which the state’s casino operators have topped the magical $300m threshold.
Last month’s results were aided by a record performance by table games, which brought in over $82.5m, nearly $3m higher than the previous table record set in April 2017. Last month’s slots revenue totaled $226.6m, the third-highest result since the state launched its casino market in 2006.
Parx Casino was the state’s top earner with a combined slots & table total of $56.8m (+4%) last month, followed by Sands Bethlehem ($50.9m, +8.9%) and Rivers Casino ($35.7m, -6.6%).
Interestingly, March was also a record-setter across the border in Maryland, where the six casino operators reported all-time high revenue of $163.3m. Meanwhile, the casinos in nearby Atlantic City had a solid March but failed to set any records.
The PGCB also revealed the state’s licensed casino sportsbooks – purely land-based for the time being but online will launch any day now, promise/pinky-swear/eye-roll – enjoyed wagering handle of $44.5m and revenue of $5.52m in the month of March, likely aided by a certain college basketball tournament (and which likely helped goose the other gaming verticals). Thanks to the state’s 36% sports betting tax, the state’s share of this haul came to just under $2m.
The March betting result was a dramatic improvement from February, which saw handle of $31.5m and revenue below $2m. It helped that two additional sportsbooks — Valley Forge Casino Resort and Valley Forge Race and Sportsbook — commenced operations in March, bringing the state’s total number of active books to eight.
Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh was March’s betting leader with handle of $11.9m and revenue of $1.34m, while Philadelphia’s SugarHouse Casino was close behind with $9.2m in handle and revenue of $1.23m. No other state managed to surpass the $1m revenue mark.
