Sports betting and igaming continue to offset Pennsylvania retail decline in July

Revenue from gambling in Pennsylvania in July hit $500.8m (£384.2m/€450.2m), according to the state’s Gaming Control Board. This is 7.2% higher than last year and also 6.1% more than $472.0m in June this year.

Despite revenue from retail slots declining 4.8% year-on-year to $204.3m, this remains the biggest source of gambling revenue in Pennsylvania. Land-based table revenue also fell 4.8% to $79.4m but still ranked third in terms of total revenue generated.

Igaming revenue tops $174.3m in July

Turning to online gambling, there is seemingly no stopping growth within the igaming sector in Pennsylvania. For July, total revenue from igaming was $174.3m, a rise of 31.2% from last year.

Of this total, $125.4m came from online slots, up 32.2%. Internet table games revenue was also up 31.7% but online poker revenue slipped 13.0% to $2.3m.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course remains the igaming market frontrunner with $64.0m in revenue, a rise of 17.7%. Valley Forge Casino Resort was second on $45.5m, while Rivers Casino Philadelphia completed the top three with $29.8m.

Pennsylvania sports betting revenue rises 20.2%

For Pennsylvania sports betting, July was another strong month with handle rising 22.5% year-on-year to $414.7m across online and retail. Revenue for the vertical hit $52.7m, a 12.7% hold.

However after promotional credits of $14.2m, taxable revenue came to $38.6m, still an increase of 20.2% from last year. Some $35.3m of all sports betting revenue came from online activity, with just $3.2m being generated by retail operators.

FanDuel, partnered with Valley Forge Casino Resort in Pennsylvania, continues to lead the state’s sports betting market. In July, FanDuel reported $17.9m in wagering revenue after promo spend, a 31% rise and a 10.8% hold from $166.4m wagered.

DraftKings remains second, posting $110.4m in handle and from a 9.5% hold, $10.5m in revenue for the month. BetMGM followed in a distant third with $1.9m in monthly revenue.

As for other gambling revenue, some $3.5m came from video gaming terminals, up 4.3%. In addition, fantasy sports generated $714,971, an increase of 9.0%.

What about tax income for Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania collected $207.7m in tax revenue for the month. This is 8.2% more than in July of last year.

Slots machines generated the most tax at $103.2m with the machines subject to a 54% levy on GGR. A further $13.1m came from the 14% land-based table games tax.

As for igaming, total tax was $75.5m, with the regulator not breaking this down in terms of game type, although online slots also pay a 54% rate. Sports betting’s 34% GGR tax generated $13.9m, video gaming terminals $1.8m, and fantasy sports $107,246.

However the state’s 12 casinos are looking to leverage the tax burden to force regulation for unlicensed skill games in the state. The licensees want the Supreme Court to declare the 54% tax they pay on slots unconstitutional, as skill game operators do business tax-free.

Some estimates say there are as many as 100,000 of the unlicensed slot-like games operating in the state. “There is no basis for requiring licensed entities to pay about half of their slot machine revenue to the commonwealth while allowing unlicensed entities to pay no tax on such revenue,” the casino owners argue in the lawsuit.