Pa. casinos reach new heights with $462.7M in March wagers

Pennsylvania casinos shattered another monthly record, generating more than $462.7 million in March, state regulators said.

That’s $30.2 million more than in November, which held the previous revenue record at $432.3 million, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Last month’s revenue also was up 14%, or $59.6 million, compared to March 2021.

March’s gains pulled the state’s casinos out of a downward revenue trend that began in December.

State regulators attributed the record to table game revenue exceeding $90 million and internet gambling revenue bypassing $110 million, both for the first time.

Legal gambling and fantasy contests last month generated $187 million in tax revenue for Pennsylvania.

Of the state’s 16 licensed casinos, Hollywood Casino at Penn National in Dauphin County saw the highest revenue in March, bringing in more than $63.7 million.

Locally, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh saw revenue reach $35.5 million. Of that, slot machines brought in more than $24.7 million, with over $8.9 million generated from table games.

Sports betting at the North Shore casino brought in $1.8 million in March — which was $1.2 million more than February, when sports betting generated $586,637. In all, the casino saw $32.7 million wagered through retail and online sportsbooks in March.

At Hollywood Casino at the Meadows in Washington County, revenue in March totaled $20.5 million.

The facility brought in $13.9 million from slot machines and $2.1 million from table games. It saw $4.4 million from sports betting in March. That’s compared to February when the casino lost $3.2 million. In all, $166.2 million were wagered at the facility in March, officials said.

Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin in Fayette County generated more than $2 million last month, $1.8 million of which came from slot machines and $188,482 from table games.

Live! Casino Pittsburgh at Westmoreland Mall saw revenue of $10 million in March. Of that, $8.4 million came from slot machines, $1.4 million from table games and $108,701 from retail sports wagering. That’s a $100,818 increase from February, when sports bets generated $7,883.

The Hempfield facility saw more than $1.2 million wagered on sports bets in February.

In casinos across the state last month, retail slot machine revenue totaled $214.7 million, and retail table games generated $94.2 million. In addition, $79.1 million was generated from online slot machines, $35.6 million from online table games and $3.2 million from online poker.

Video gaming terminals generated $3.8 million, and fantasy contests brought in $1.3 million, data show.

Sports betting

Retail and online sports wagering reached $30.4 million last month.

That revenue pushed Pennsylvania sportsbooks to generate $1 billion on $13.7 billion in wagers since the industry was legalized in 2018, according to Play Pennsylvania, an independent website covering legal and regulated gambling in the state. That year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that prevented most states from legalizing sports betting. Until then, Nevada was the only state allowed to accept wagers on the outcomes of games.

Pennsylvania — which today has 13 retail sportsbooks, two off-track betting parlors that accept bets on other sports and more than six online betting apps available to consumers — now joins New Jersey and Nevada as the only states to have surpasses $1 billion in lifetime sports betting revenue.

“Of all the states that have legalized and regulated sports betting over the last four years, few can claim the level of maturity that Pennsylvania has reached,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayUSA.com. “This is a stable market that is still showing healthy growth, even if some newer markets garner more attention now.”

Across Pennsylvania, the amount wagered on sports last month reached $714.9 million, as compared to almost $597 million in February. Play Pennsylvania attributed the high handle to March Madness, which was expected to generate between $210 and $260 million in wagers.

According to the website, online sportsbook accounted for $667 million, or 93% of the state’s handle, in March.

“With the NBA playoffs, baseball and major golf tournaments the main attractions, sportsbooks now enter the slow season,” Gouker said. “But the last six months have produced a significant leap forward, with wagering that never really fell below $600 million. Better yet, the industry can look forward to a football season this year that should bring even bigger numbers.”