The Keystone State’s gambling industry has begun 2019 on a very high note, something that has seen it even outpace the neighboring state of New Jersey in the month of January. According to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on February 19, gaming operators in the state generated a whopping $254.2 million in revenue which represents a 3.2 percent year-over-year increase from January 2018. It was also significantly higher than the $229.6 million that gamblers in New Jersey wagered at its gambling facilities.
Of the total revenue, table games at the state’s 12 licensed casinos generated a whopping $74.4 million which was a 4.75 percent increase year over year. While this can be considered to be relatively small, the state experienced its ever decrease in table game revenue in 2018 which makes the January revenue uptick quite a big deal since it essentially points to greats things to come.
Sports Betting Continues to Shine
The increased table game revenue has been partly attributed to the launch of the state’s sports betting industry which is now in its second full month of operations. January 2019 saw the number of sports betting operators in the state double which, in turn, resulted in the doubling of sports betting revenues as well. Casinos that have sportsbooks reported that the sector has generated $32 million in bets since it went live in December last year.
According to a report released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board last Friday, sportsbook operators made over $2.6 million revenue last month while the state made $940,000 in taxes from the six operational brick-and-mortar casino sportsbooks.
Leading the revenue charge was the Philadelphia-based SugarHouse Casino with more than $10 million in sports betting revenue. SugarHouse is followed by Hollywood and Rivers casinos, both of which have also recorded some pretty impressive revenue figures ever since they went live with their sports betting offerings. The revenue figures are expected to go even higher when more casinos finally get approved to offer the services – at the moment, two more casinos (Presque Isle Downs in Erie and Valley Forge Casino near Philadelphia) have received licenses from the gaming control board. Unfortunately, the specific launch dates of their sports betting operations are yet to be released to the public.
Sports betting aside bettors in the state can now look forward to even more gaming products and offerings most of which are expected to go live this year. These included the highly anticipated online casino and online poker industry as well as mobile betting services. It is certainly going to be a great year.
