Pennsylvania Casino Revenue Dips, In-Person Losses Offset Online Gains
In its September statistical release, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) disclosed that play at physical casinos decreased annually.
The PGCB said Thursday that retail slot machine gross gaming revenue (GGR) was just under $197 million, a 1.5% decrease from September 2023. Approximately 2.3%, or $73.4 million, of player wagers were retained by table games.
Together, the $270.4 million in in-person casino gambling revenue was a 1.7% decrease, or $4.7 million less than the total amount of money earned by the state's 17 physical casinos' slots and tables the previous year.
The gaming data from Pennsylvania comes after that from New Jersey, which similarly saw a decline in in-person revenue at Atlantic City's nine casinos. Since September 2023 included an additional Friday and Saturday—usually the two busiest days of the week for heritage casinos—September 2024 was regarded as a challenging comparative.
Bridges Gap Online
Online, where iGaming and mobile sports betting flourished, comfortably countered the approximately $4.7 million drop in casino income that occurred last month.
With the exception of poker rake, the GGR from interactive table games and online slots was $174.5 million. That was an increase of almost $17.4 million, or 11%, from the previous year. The rise was mostly caused by internet slots.
Sports betting revenue, which is mostly made online through website platforms and mobile wagering apps, increased by 46% to $53.5 million. The NFL season got off to a strong start for the oddsmakers, which increased sportsbook revenue.
Slot-like video gaming terminals (VGTs) within diesel truck stops increased state gaming income by approximately $3.4 million, or 3.6%.
Other September losses, in addition to retail casinos, included a 7% reduction in online poker revenue ($2.2 million) and a nearly 5% decline ($1.9 million) in fantasy sports fees.
Last month, the gaming business in Pennsylvania took in $505.87 million from players, a 6.2% increase.
Parx Continues to Lead
Along with its sister casino Parx Casino Shippensburg, Parx Casino Bensalem, located roughly 20 minutes north of Philadelphia's City Center, is one of only two smoke-free casinos in Pennsylvania.
For many years, Pennsylvania, the third-richest gambling state in the nation behind Nevada and New Jersey, has been dominated by Parx's main property. In 2024, players in the Philadelphia metro area who are looking for a smoke-free indoor setting continue to use the tobacco-free gaming floor.
With $30.2 million in slot machine wins in September, Parx topped the 16 other physical casinos. With $24.2 million, Wind Creek Bethlehem came in a far second. With $15.5 million, Parx came in second on the felt, behind Wind Creek, which had almost $18 million.
With a GGR of $47.2 million, Penn Entertainment's online businesses remained the industry leader in iGaming. Through its online Hollywood Casino integration with the ESPN Bet online sportsbook, Penn runs iGaming in Pennsylvania.
At $33.7 million, Boyd Gaming's FanDuel iGaming business, which is licensed through a partnership with Valley Forge Casino Resort, came in second.
With $27.3 million in total revenue, Valley Forge's FanDuel Sportsbook accepted the most wagers and made the most money in the sports gambling industry. The book's internet operations generated about $26.6 million.
With $18.8 million in combined retail and mobile revenue, Hollywood's ESPN Bet came in second.
