As health officials still urge caution when out in public, the worst of COVID-19 has likely passed. It has been a long year for gaming operators worldwide, but it seems that everything is starting to return to normal. Across the US, states have been reporting better gaming revenue than they have seen in a year, and Pennsylvania has now been included on that list. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board just released a financial update for the state’s gaming activity from April and showed that the casinos have now enjoyed back-to-back months of gains.
Pennsylvania Casinos Ready For Action
In March, Pennsylvania casinos reported total revenue of about $403 million, substantially more than the $154 million they saw a year earlier. Despite the COVID-19 situation, March 2020 was still a year-on-year improvement for the state, which had reported $87 million in casino revenue in 2019. Things continue to trend upward, with Pennsylvania casinos taking in $404.1 million last month, well above the $46 million from a year earlier.
Bucks County appears to be the popular spot for gamblers. In both March and April, Parx Casino in the county reported the highest amount of revenue, $61.5 million and $61.9 million, respectively. Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh was next with $29.7 million last month, followed by The Meadows Racetrack and Casino and its $20.8 million. The other 12 casinos in the state accounted for the rest of the money, with Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin in Fayette County achieving just $2.1 million.
Normal Gambling Ebbs and Tides In Pennsylvania
Slot machine revenue provided $201.3 million of the total revenue last month, up from March’s $199.2 million. Video gaming terminals contributed $3.8 million, and fantasy sports contests added another $2 million. Online slots were worth $62.6 million, a decrease from the $66.4 million from the prior month, with online table games showing revenue of $27.6 million. This was also a decline from March.
Table games saw revenue of $77.8 million compared to $71.3 million in March, and sports gambling dropped from $29.3 million to $26.2 million. The decrease in sports gambling revenue is likely due, in part, to the completion of March Madness. That concept is supported by gaming analysts, who point out that April’s sports gambling revenue for Pennsylvania came in below $500 million for the first time in four months. There was no more NFL and no more NCAA Men’s Basketball, both of which are always favorites with gamblers.
Sportsbooks are likely to see an increase in wagers coming through the NBA and MLB over the next couple of months. However, as pressure mounts to call off the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, it’s likely that there won’t be substantial gains until the new football season starts in the fall.