The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) released its February gaming revenue this past week, revealing very significant growth for internet gaming as a whole. Sports betting was down quite a bit, though, as was real money online poker.
Overall, the PGCB was pleased with the results. The entire gaming industry generated $304,349,740 in February 2020, which was up 5% from January and showed 13.75% growth from February 2019.
As for the internet gaming sector, it is still too new to make any sweeping conclusions except that, as a whole, it grows significantly each month. The longest that any online gaming site has been active is nine months, not even enough time to garner any year-on-year comparisons.
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And online poker only launched its first site in November 2019, and there remains only one site in operation for the entire state of Pennsylvania. The initial numbers are only setting a guidepost for the months and years to come.
PA Online Poker Revenue – February 2020
The fourth month of regulated Pennsylvania online poker showed revenue for Mount Airy Casino only, as it is partnered with PokerStars, the only site that has bothered to launch online poker for PA residents thus far. And while there was a decrease in revenue for two months straight, that doesn’t show the whole picture. Nevertheless, here are the numbers:
--PA online poker revenue in February 2020: $1,830,356 (15.2% decrease)--PA online poker revenue in January 2020: $2,157,266 (12.8% decrease)--PA online poker revenue in December 2019: $2,473,137 (25.8% increase)--PA online poker revenue in November 2019: $1,965,494
To view a more accurate picture, especially considering February has fewer days than any other month, we break it down by average per-day revenue each month:
--PA average online poker revenue per day in February 2020: $63,115.72 (9.3% decrease)--PA average online poker revenue per day in January 2020: $69,589.23 (10.5% decrease)--PA average online poker revenue per day in December 2019: $77,778.61 (1.1% decrease)--PA average online poker revenue per day in November 2019: $78,619.76
Technically, the decrease from January to February was less pronounced that the one from December to January. It is still not ideal, however.
PA Internet Gaming Revenue – February 2020
As has been the case for years in New Jersey, Pennsylvania’s entire internet gaming sector saw tremendous growth in February. Seven sites are still offering online gaming, the same as the previous month.
--PA internet gaming revenue in February 2020: $19,490,815 (39.6% increase)--PA internet gaming revenue in January 2020: $13,957,539
Valley Forge Casino took over the top spot with the most internet gaming revenue in February with $6,053,007, jumping up from fourth place the previous month. Rivers Casino Philadelphia slipped to second in the state with $4,755,592. Mount Airy fell to third place with $3,223,460, followed by Parx Casino with $2,352,492, Hollywood Casino at Penn National with $2,315,459, and Mohegan Sun Pocono in the distance with $723,229. Trailing significantly was Presque Isle Downs and Casino with just $67,575.
PA Sports Betting Revenue – February 2020
Sports betting dipped in February, but that seems to be the story around the industry. January tends to soar with NFL bets, and it drops off after the Super Bowl in February. There are still 12 operators offering sports wagering in Pennsylvania, four of which have chosen not to offer online betting.
The handle for the month was as follows:
--PA sports betting handle in February 2020: $329,765,782 (7.5% decrease)--PA sports betting handle in January 2020: $348,381,708
And the revenue for the month was wildly lower than in January:
--PA sports betting revenue in February 2020: $4,722,252 (79.3% decrease)--PA sports betting revenue in January 2020: $22,841,213
By far, the casino operator with the most sports betting handle in February was Valley Forge with $140,970,569, nearly twice as much as Meadows Racetrack and Casino with $73,772,973. As far as revenue, though, Rivers Philadelphia produced the most with $1,168,358, followed by Meadows with $1,067,446, then Parx, Rivers Pittsburgh, and Valley Forge with $70,774.
Expect Wild Numbers in March
The coronavirus shutdowns will drastically affect the March numbers across the board.
By March 16, more than half of the state’s casinos had closed, and the rest of them were ordered by the PGCB to stop all gaming activities by 6am on March 17. “While the closure of the casinos is temporary, there is no specific indication of when reopening will occur,” the statement read.
The unprecedented move and the indefinite timeline ahead will first be evident with the March revenue numbers from the PGCB. Casino revenue will be significantly lower, by at least 50% in most cases, while online gaming is likely to increase significantly. PokerStars, the state’s only poker site, already saw a significant increase in traffic in the past two weeks as casino poker rooms closed, and all internet gaming is likely to soar in March.
Revenue from internet gaming will in no way replace the lost revenue of land-based casinos, but it could soften the blow a bit.
https://twitter.com/PAGamingControl/status/1239690424706576384?s=20
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