In the United States, only a handful of states offer online gaming. Currently, it seems that New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the top contenders as the regions where players are logging on the most to play slot and table games. Both states are doing well, and it seems that they will only continue to succeed as players are now stuck at home due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Below we look at the revenues from February, one month before players started staying home due to the outbreak. We expect these numbers to only increase as the months go by during this time of self-quarantine.
Pennsylvania February Revenues
Online gaming in Pennsylvania earned just over $19 million in February which was an almost 40% increase from January. This was a surprising increase, especially considering that there were two less days in the month.
Online slot games are a favorite in the state. With seven online casinos in operation, six of those saw slots fare better than table games. Valley Forge was able to see table game revenues of $4.82 million which was much more than the $1.2 million in slot revenues.
Overall, slot revenues came in at $9.63 million and table games were set at just over $8 million. When you look at the six casinos with an increase in slots over table games, the increase was over 60%.
In total, the gaming industry earned just over $304 million in Pennsylvania, when adding the iGaming total to the land-based earnings. The online industry counts for 6.4% of the overall total. However, by next month, the percentage will be much higher as casinos in the state are currently shut down.
New Jersey February Totals
The top online gaming operator in the US is easily New Jersey. The state has offered iGaming since 2013 and have been successful for years, continuing to expand their market. For February, the industry earned just over $51 million which is almost three times the Pennsylvania earnings.
While the amount is quite large, it is actually a bit short when compared to the $55.1 million earned in January. The top contributor for the state was the Golden Nugget, which earned a total of $19.78 million. This was higher than the casino’s land-based earnings at just over $16 million. Amazingly, the operator was able to see an 85% increase from February of last year.
In NJ, online gambling contributed to just over 18% of the total gaming win for the month. In total, gambling provided $287.3 million in earnings.
An Increase for Both States is Coming
This month, the casinos in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, along with those across the US, were shutdown due to the coronavirus. With no option for land-based betting and players stuck at home during this time of isolation, it is expected that online gaming revenues in both states will increase.
Residents in the US are encouraged to stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary to go out. For those stuck at home, boredom has quickly set in. For NJ and PA residents, they can spend some time gambling online and analysts feel this will be a time when a gambling boom will take place in the state. We shall see in the coming weeks just how much the industry grows and how the coronavirus affects the iGaming revenues in both states.
