For years, New Jersey has remained at the number one spot when it comes to online gambling. When considering sports betting, we look to Nevada. All that may soon change as Pennsylvania is showing great promise in both sectors. If the moment continues, we could see Pennsylvania become the top state in both categories, knocking the veteran states down a notch.
Reviewing Recent Reports
While the coronavirus has shut down most everything in the US for the past few months, we still have reports providing insight into the online gambling sector of the states that offer legalized services. In March and April, it can clearly be seen that Pennsylvania is seeing strong growth in the online casino and poker sectors. They are also seeing trends that sports betting will be on the rise next.
Online poker has been surprisingly successful, even reaching the $5 million mark in April. This is unheard of, since New Jersey usually only hits around the $1 million mark. Though, the coronavirus has resulted in an uptick in online poker gaming revenues for the Garden State as well. They hit over $3 million but did not get as high as Pennsylvania did last month.
It is unclear as to exactly why online gambling has taken off in the state. It could be that players have long-awaited the option, that was approved back in late 2017. Or perhaps the coronavirus quarantine pushed residents to try something new, which just so happened to be online gambling. Many sites saw an influx of new accounts created once people were forced to stay at home due to a shutdown order.
The coming months will prove just how successful the online gambling industry will be. Casinos are starting to open up again across the US and once all are fully functioning, players may choose to visit the real life facilities instead of logging online. Only time will tell just how many players will continue to enjoy online gaming.
Sports Betting Considerations
It has also been estimated that Pennsylvania will soon become the top provider of sports betting in the US. The state has a much larger population than Nevada, with 12.8 million to their 3.1 million. Throw in New Jersey’s 8.9 million and there are more people in Pennsylvania when Nevada and New Jersey combine their residents.
Over the past few months, Pennsylvania has seen a nice trend in betting. In February, the state saw just over $329 million in bets placed while March resulted in $131.3 million. This amount is lower but it must be taken into account that sports were limited due to professional leagues cancelling or postponing events.
We shall continue to monitor Pennsylvania’s online casino and poker sector along with sports betting to see how they progress as the remainder of 2020 plays out. We could see a new leader in all categories by the time 2021 rolls around if the state continues with the momentum seen during the past few months!
