Retail casinos in the state get lost in the shuffle as Pennsylvania online casinos have grabbed the headlines in recent months. Online casino operators broke another revenue record in March, however, retail casinos are holding their own despite the massive online growth.
It shows that the Keystone State has a huge appetite for gaming, whether it’d be online or at a retail casino.
In Pennsylvania, questions about online casinos cannibalizing retail locations can be put to rest.
Panelists at the East Coast Gaming Congress (ECGC) in Atlantic City gave their thoughts on the subject.
Retail Pennsylvania casinos still posting strong revenue
With the launch of online casinos, this common question would often arise: Would online casinos cannibalize the retail casino industry?
That is certainly not the case in Pennsylvania.
As online casinos posted another record-breaking month in March, the fourth time in six months, Pennsylvania retail casinos also had another strong showing last month.
Over the last six months, here’s a list of retail slot revenue:
- October: $199 million
- November: $185.6 million
- December: $198 million
- January: $202.2 million
- February: $202.8 million
- March: $225.4 million
Here’s a list of retail table games revenue during that time:
- October: $79.8 million
- November: $79.2 million
- December: $81.7 million
- January: $83.9 million
- February: $74.5 million
- March: $85.9 million
In the month that online casinos broke a US revenue record, retail casinos in PA also posted their best slot and table games revenue in the last six months.
Howard Glaser, Global Head of Government Affairs and Legislative Counsel of Light & Wonder, shared his sentiments on the retail and online casino industry coexisting.
“There’s a reason why every single casino operator not only supports, but is out there leading the charge for iGaming,” Glaser said on a ECGC panel. “They view these as complimentary channels where both sides grow. What can happen is, some people that play brick-and-mortar, they’re going to try the online a little bit. Then what happens is they start doing a little more of both. It’s like ordering from your favorite restaurant that wasn’t online, you can order on UberEats. If you order once a month on UberEats you’re going back as many times as you did before.”
PA casinos are back to pre-pandemic earnings
As online casinos launched in the middle of 2019, retail casinos still didn’t have to worry too much about cannibalization since there were so few options at the time.
Some of the biggest retail casinos in the state have, at worst, recovered and are back to pre-pandemic revenues.
Here are some casinos’ slot and table game revenue from September 2019 to February 2020, compared to October 2022 to March 2023.
Parx Casino
September 2019 to February 2020: Slots / Tables
- September: $33.9 million / $15.5 million
- October: $34.5 million / $16.7 million
- November: $34.7 million / $15.6 million
- December: $35.1 million / $15.9 million
- January: $35.9 million / $16.4 million
- February: $36.9 million / $17.6 million
October 2022 to March 2023: Slots / Tables
- October: $32 million / $17.1 million
- November: $30 million / $16.1 million
- December: $32.8 million / $15.8 million
- January: $32.6 million / $17.8 million
- February: $30.7 million / $17 million
- March: $35.1 million / $17.8 million
Wind Creek Bethlehem
September 2019 to February 2020: Slots / Tables
- September: $22.7 million / $18.4 million
- October: $21.7 million / $17.9 million
- November: $20.5 million / $19.6 million
- December: $21.2 million / $22.4 million
- January: $20 million / $18.3 million
- February: $22 million / $15.8 million
October 2022 to March 2023: Slots / Tables
- October: $22.3 million / $19.7 million
- November: $21 million / $19.6 million
- December: $22.1 million / $20 million
- January: $23.8 million / $19.8 million
- February: $23.3 million / $14.9 million
- March: $25 million / $20 million
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh
September 2019 to February 2020: Slots / Tables
- September: $24.5 million / $6.3 million
- October: $23.9 million / $10.8 million
- November: $24.7 million / $7.1 million
- December: $24.5 million / $7.5 million
- January: $25 million / $7 million
- February: $26 million / $7.8 million
October 2022 to March 2023: Slots / Tables
- October: $21.7 million / $7.3 million
- November: $20.9 million / $8.7 million
- December: $22.9 million / $8.7 million
- January: $21.1 million / $6.9 million
- February: $22.8 million / $7 million
- March: $24.9 million / $8.5 million
Three of the highest grossing casinos in the state have not seen much of a drop-off, if any, since online casinos have launched. Though Parx and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh slot numbers slightly lag, table games revenue has slightly increased.
Either way, retail casinos are not having an issue coexisting with online options. In fact, since the launch of online platforms in 2019, the Keystone State has opened five retail casinos. They include:
- Live! Casino Philadelphia
- Live! Casino Pittsburgh
- Hollywood Casino York
- Hollywood Casino Morgantown
- Parx Shippensburg
Land-based casinos have expanded their facilities and are keeping up with the online market.
Retail casinos in Pennsylvania have reinvented themselves
Retail casinos have maintained their standing largely because many have reinvented themselves. Pennsylvania casinos have invested more than $250 million in renovations since the pandemic.
“We find that all guests are looking for great value and younger guests, in particular, gravitate towards experiential entertainment,” Rivers Casino Philadelphia General Manager Justin Moore told PlayPennsylvania in January.
Many Pennsylvania casinos have added sportsbooks, hotels, ballrooms, restaurants, Topgolf Swing Suites and more to appeal to experiential options for the younger audience. Parx is the latest casino to get approval to add a hotel to the Bensalem location.
Shawn Fluharty, Minority Whip in the West Virginia House of Delegates, gave an outsider perspective on Pennsylvania’s online casino industry. Since West Virginia also has online casinos, Fluharty commented on why they haven’t cannibalized retail casinos.
“I think a lot of the participants in the market weren’t going to the land-based casinos to begin with,” Fluharty told PlayPennsylvania at the ECGC. “I’ll go to the casino but I plan my casino trips around more things than just gaming. It’s more of an entertainment venue. I feel like the brick-and-mortars have been forced to evolve and it’s helped them not get cannibalized.”
