According to the monthly revenue report released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, total revenue from gambling across 17 casinos, online casino games, sports betting, truck stop video gaming terminals (VGTs) and fantasy sports contests reached $457.2m. This reflected a 7.5% rise from August 2022.
On aggregate, operators in various forms of legal commercial gaming generated $457.2m in earnings, resulting in direct taxes of $189.4m for state and local governments.
The iCasino sector emerged as a significant contributor, generating $145m in earnings. Notably, August's total represented a 35.3% increase from the previous year. The total iCasino revenue of $145m was further broken down into $105.3m from slots play, $37.3m from table games, and $2.4m from iPoker.
Overall, the iCasino industry experienced heightened activity in August, with platforms like Penn Interactive's Hollywood Casino license leading the way with a revenue total of $60.3m. Valley Forge Casino Resort and Rivers Philadelphia licenses followed closely, generating $32.4m and $28.1m, respectively.
Moreover, the iGaming sector received a significant boost with the introduction of online casino options from Bally's and Golden Nugget, offering additional slots and table games for mobile and computer play. Bally's reported around $2.2m in revenue for August, while Golden Nugget reported $191,548.
In-person slots and table games contributed $285.9m in revenue, marking a 2.2% increase from August 2022. However, taxable sports betting revenue witnessed a decline compared to last year.
In August 2023, VGT revenue was $3.5m, a 5.40% drop from August 2022's $3.7m. According to the report, by the close of August 2023, VGT terminal operators were operating the maximum permitted five machines at 69 truck stop establishments, up from 66 establishments last year.
While the state witnessed stability in the overall gaming revenue, individual casinos showed variations. Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin, Rivers Philadelphia, and Hollywood Casino Morgantown reported double-digit percentage increases in its slots revenue compared to the previous year. Conversely, Harrah's Philadelphia experienced a 14.7% decline from August 2022.
In terms of table games revenue, Lady Luck, Hollywood Casino at the Meadows, and Live! Pittsburgh demonstrated significant increases year over year in August. However, Mount Airy Casino Resort and Hollywood Casino York reported declines of 31.5% and 21.3% respectively.
