The month of March has turned out to be a rather great one for the Keystone State’s online gambling industry after posting a significant rebound in a number of key verticals including sports betting. Released on Tuesday by the state’s gaming control board, the new revenue reports revealed that among other things, the 12 operational licensed casinos reported combined slots and gaming table revenue amounting to $309.1 million which is a 2.9 percent year-over-year improvement.
The gaming revenue posted in that period also eclipsed Pennsylvania’s previous monthly record which stood at $300.5 million, that also happens to have been set in March last year. The figures further revealed that the two March results are the only two occasions in which the state’s casino operators managed to go over the $300 million mark.
Record Table Game Performance
The outstanding revenue figures posted last month were largely due to the exceptional performance of table games – this particular vertical brought in more than $82.5 million which represent a #3 million increased from previous table game record that was posted way back in 2017.
Slot machine revenue did not trail too far behind though as it totaled $226.6 million which is the third-largest result ever posted since the state launched its gambling market in 2006.
| MAR-19 | MAR-18 | CHANGE (%) | |
| Parx Casino | $56,799,077 | $54,635,233 | 3.96% |
| Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem | $50,935,397 | $46,770,619 | 8.90% |
| Rivers Casino | $35,757,627 | $33,546,172 | 6.59% |
| SugarHouse Casino | $27,524,093 | $28,705,735 | -4.12% |
| Harrah’s Philadelphia | $25,056,283 | $24,767,142 | 1.17% |
| Hollywood Casino | $24,038,736 | $23,696,663 | 1.44% |
| The Meadows Casino | $22,897,366 | $23,442,457 | -2.33% |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $21,514,508 | $22,749,633 | -5.43% |
| Mount Airy Casino Resort | $16,347,609 | $15,497,865 | 5.48% |
| Valley Forge Casino Resort | $13,154,276 | $11,575,606 | 13.64% |
| Presque Isle Downs and Casino | $12,345,643 | $11,892,259 | 3.81% |
| Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin | $2,754,516 | $3,236,628 | -14.90% |
Sports Betting Revenue Goes Up Thanks to March Madness
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board also announced that, in March, the state’s licensed casino sportsbooks enjoyed wagering handles of $44.5 million and revenue of $5.52 million. This is largely due to March Madness (a college basketball tournament) that made the Keystone State’s sports betting revenue in March among the best in the country. This essentially shows that Pennsylvania is beginning to show is full potential in as far as sports wagering is concerned.
While a lot of effort is being channeled towards ensuring that the land-based sportsbooks work as expected, it goes without saying that the growth of sports betting as a whole has been rather stunted due to the absence of online sports betting. Fortunately, Pennsylvania is set to officially launch its sports betting industry later this year and this is certainly bound to make quite the difference.
