Pennsylvania’s gaming industry ended last year on a high note and carried that momentum right into 2022, starting the year off with records in both sports betting and iGaming.
In 2021, Pennsylvania’s commercial gaming industry set a new record for the state and ranked second only to Nevada with $4.83 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR), according to a recent report from the American Gaming Association.
That was a 79.2% increase over 2020 and up 41.6% from 2019. New Jersey was not far behind with $4.74 billion in GGR last year.
In January, PA sportsbooks took a record of $793.7 million in bets in an NFL-packed month, good for $53.4 million in revenue. Online casinos and poker sites generated a record $130.0 million in revenue, besting the previous high of $127.6 million from the previous month.
All PA gaming verticals totaled for $393.1 million in January revenue, a 26% increase over January 2021, according to figures released by the PGCB on Friday.
PA iGaming revenue by operator in January 2022
| Licensee | Total Revenue | Slots | Tables | Poker | Promos | State/Local Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Penn National | $51,243,158 | $35,446,103 | $15,538,708 | $258,348 | $10,039,635 | $16,241,383 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | $33,538,309 | $29,667,067 | $3,784,200 | $87,042 | $6,122,590 | $13,331,145 |
| Valley Forge | $20,981,100 | $11,236,650 | $9,744,449 | $0 | $496,539 | $7,358,772 |
| Mount Airy | $7,490,245 | $3,774,006 | $1,478,229 | $2,238,011 | $1,645,612 | $1,742,202 |
| Parx | $4,174,506 | $3,703,651 | $470,855 | $0 | $983,687 | $1,544,117 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | $3,832,400 | $2,510,963 | $514,745 | $806,692 | $923,056 | $1,061,392 |
| Live Philadelphia | $3,477,831 | $2,687,223 | $790,609 | $0 | $664,637 | $1,218,694 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $2,284,725 | $1,850,299 | $434,426 | $0 | $352,854 | $878,129 |
| Presque Isle | $1,555,138 | $1,277,512 | $277,626 | $0 | $112,633 | $673,455 |
| Wind Creek | $1,415,620 | $1,364,963 | $50,657 | $0 | $341,148 | $560,965 |
| Total | $129,993,032 | $93,518,436 | $33,084,504 | $3,390,093 | $21,682,391 | $44,610,254 |
For a full rundown of PA sports betting and online casino revenue, see our full monthly revenue press release.
Looking at the Pennsylvania gaming revenue picture to kick of 2022, here are three key takeaways from January.
PA online casinos stay red hot, set to break more records
It may be winter in the northeast, but Pennsylvania online casinos continue their hot streak. January marks the 11th straight month that this vertical has produced over $100 million in gross gaming revenue. The result has meant big bucks for the Keystone State.
After bringing in $466.4 million in state and local taxes in 2021, last month added another $44.6 million. That puts PA iGaming on track to set new GGR and tax revenue records for the state again in 2022.
Top dogs remain and continue to outspend the competition
The top three PA iGaming operators (accounting for 9 of 17 online skins) combined for 81.3% of market share, leaving the bottom seven to fight for less than a quarter.
This continues a long trend of Penn National and Rivers Philadelphia maintaining the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. With more sites under their licenses, including some of the biggest brands in the market, it’s no surprise these two continue to dominate. But they are also giving away the most in promos, which are deducted from GGR before taxes are applied.
Highest promotional spend among PA online casinos in January 2022:
Penn National and Rivers online casino skins led the way in promo spend, by a large margin. Penn’s four brands handed out $10.0 million and Rivers’ three brands gave away $6.1 million in January promos.
Third was Mount Airy ($1.6 million) with PokerStars casino and poker site. The third-highest revenue producer, Valley Forge, was seventh in promo spend with $497,000.
| Operator | Brands | Promo Spend (Jan. 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| Penn National | Hollywood, DraftKings, BetMGM, Barstool | $10.0 million |
| Rivers Philadelphia | BetRivers, Borgata, SugarHouse | $6.1 million |
| Mount Airy | PokerStars | $1.6 million |
| Parx | Parx | $984,000 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | Caesars | $923,000 |
| Live! Philadelphia | PlayLive, Betway | $665,000 |
| Valley Forge | FanDuel, Stardust | $497,000 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | Unibet | $353,000 |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | $341,000 |
| Presque Isle | TwinSpires | $113,000 |
Brick-and-mortar and online casino synergy continues
The PA gaming industry set new records on every major front in 2021. As online casinos flourished, so too did the land-based gambling scene, helped along by the addition of Live! Philadelphia and two Penn National mini-casinos – Hollywood York and Hollywood Morgantown.
Meanwhile, sports betting has made a steady climb in handle and also had its best year yet.
All told, Pennsylvania reaped in $1.93 billion in gaming tax revenue in 2021 (compared to $1.10 billion in 2020).
- iGaming: $466.4 million
- Sports betting: $122.5 million
The remaining $1.34 billion in gaming tax revenue came mostly from land-based casinos, which posted a state record $4.83 billion in GGR last year. (It also includes tax revenue from daily fantasy sports and video gaming terminals, both minor contributors to the overall gaming tax picture.)
In January, the PGCB reported total gaming revenue of $393.1 million for a tax take of $157.5 million, on track to at least match the 2021 record for PA.
Lead image via Shutterstock.
