Even though the entire gaming industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, the growth of the iGaming industry continues. The state of Pennsylvania saw some of the biggest iGaming growth in the United States, and the state continues to post some solid numbers.
Pennsylvania will still see an overall loss in total gaming revenue, but the iGaming industry has been bringing in some money for the state. The figures from May were just totaled and announced, and Pennsylvania actually did much better than expected.
Online slot machine handle in Pennsylvania topped $1 billion for the first time since the industry was launched. There was approximately $1.06 billion wagered during May, and that number is almost $300 million more than the numbers from April.
Table games were a big reason for the massive increase in total betting handle, as these games brought in $778.5 million in total bets. That number was an increase of close to $150 million from the totals that were reported in April.
The state of Pennsylvania also reportedly brought in close to $24 million in revenue off of online slots and table games.
May brought in close to $56 million in total revenue to the state, which was almost double the totals from March. Even with the large increase over the last two months, the state is still operating at a fraction of the numbers that were reported in 2019.
In May 2019, the state was able to bring in more than $120 million in gaming revenue taxes, but most of that figure was generated from land-based casinos. The growth of the iGaming industry has kept the state afloat, but they need the land-based casinos back open to reach their full potential.
Sportsbooks Rebounding as Well
Sportsbooks in the state of Pennsylvania are starting to rebound as well as some live sporting events are beginning to resume throughout the country. Sportsbooks across the state took in $77.5 million in wagers during May, which was a large total in relation to the lack of sports.
Pennsylvania saw just $46 million in wagers during April, which equals close to a 70 percent growth in a month. Pennsylvania was able to bring in more than $1.6 million in taxes thanks to their sportsbooks during May.
FanDuel and DraftKings were once again the two biggest online sportsbooks in terms of total betting handle. FanDuel saw $29.6 million in wagers during May, while DraftKings was right behind them at $21.8 million in total handle.
The state does not break down the different types of sports bet on when they announce the numbers, but the return of NASCAR, UFC, and some live golfing events were the biggest reasons for this increase from April.
Casinos Starting to Reopen Throughout State
By the end of next week, six of the 12 retail casinos in the state are expected to be reopened. Pennsylvania has allowed casinos to reopen when their host county reaches the “green phase” of the reopening plan.
All of the casinos will be reopening in a limited capacity, and several health and safety restrictions have been put in place at each location. The return of land-based gaming in Pennsylvania will continue the trend of the gaming industry seeing improved numbers in both betting handle and total gaming revenue.
Pennsylvania taxes gaming revenue at 34 percent, which is the highest tax rate in the United States. The state should be able to recover quickly due to this percentage of taxes, but all 12 casinos will need to reopen for this to happen.
