It is no surprise that the Pennsylvania online gaming market has found a leader in SugarHouse. The casino operator has already seen success in New Jersey and for their home state, they have taken the lead in the iGaming market, blasting past the competition.
Early Stages
The online casino market in the state just started in July and though it is early on, SugarHouse has taken a significant lead. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board recently released the earnings thus far, and the overall, over $49 million was wagered via slot and table games. Of that amount, the three operating casinos were able to earn $812,306 in revenues.
Slots were the big earner for the state online, with just over $517,000 in gross revenues while table games brought in $294,594. The totals are only from two weeks of online gaming, so the state is already showcasing major earning potential from the new industry.
It will not be until September when we will be able to see a full month of revenues from the state. August will mark the first full month that SugarHouse, Parx Casino and Hollywood Casino have offered online gaming services.
Individual Revenues
Breaking down the revenues on an individual basis, it was the SugarHouse that pulled ahead with an early lead. In just two weeks time, the online casino site earned $422,796 in total with $261,869 from slots and $160,927 from table games.
Coming in second was the Parx online casino, with totals much less than SugarHouse. They earned $260,214 in total, with $139,903 from slots and $120,221 from table games. Pulling up the rear with much lower revenues was the Hollywood Casino’s online offering. They produced $129,386 in total revenues with $115,940 from slots and $13,446 from table games.
For SugarHouse, they were able to capture just over 50% of the market share. It was most likely helpful that the brand has GeoGuard, an app that could be used to allow iPhone and iPad users with access to the gaming site. Operators have been unable to offer an Apple solution due to the new restrictions of the mobile company. The workaround by SugarHouse certainly gave them an upper hand among competitors.
For the state, the Commonwealth was able to earn a solid return from taxes. In Pennsylvania, the tax rate is a high 54% for slots and a much lower 16% on table games. For July operations, the state earned $279,565 from slots and $47,135 from table games.
Early On
Because the online gaming industry has only been operational for a short time, we are unable to see their true potential. Over the next few months, as the year comes to an end, we should get a better idea as to how popular casino gaming will be online in Pennsylvania.
Operators have been slow to start and there are still more license holders in the state. We should see more apps and sites launch in the future, which will help to give the revenue totals a push. As Parx Casino and Hollywood Casino work on their mobile applications for iOS users, it will also open up the industry to many more players.
It has been proven in other states, such as New Jersey, that players use mobile more than desktop or laptop devices to play online casino games. For Pennsylvania to be truly successful, they must be able to offer both Android and Apple device users access to their online gaming content.
