Online poker in Pennsylvania posted a record $5.25 million win in April, leap-frogging the previous best month of the state, $3.13 million in March, and surpassing poker revenue from New Jersey, revealed the monthly report issued by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. In just seven months of operations, Pennsylvania managed to beat the monthly record for a single US regulated market set by New Jersey back in January 2014.
PokerStars Behind the Record
The only available online poker operator in the Keystone State, PokerStars, which offers its gaming products through a partnership deal with Mount Airy Casino Resort after a deal both parties signed back in 2018, managed to generate more than all online poker rooms in New Jersey. PokerStars launched during the month the largest online poker tournament in the history of Pennsylvania.
PokerStars Pennsyl-MANIA, a 2-day, 5 re-entries poker event, was offered as a $250,000 Guaranteed with a $200 Buy-In, and brought up huge interest, and after five hours of late registration more than doubled the prize pool to $516,000.
According to GameIntel’s online poker traffic statistics, Pennsylvania reached a 7-day moving average high of cash game traffic in late April, gradually climbing down since then, possibly, due to the easing of stay-at-home restrictions.
Online Gambling Surge
The surge in online gambling came during times when land-based gaming options were unavailable due to the casino closures and people having more free time being stuck at home with nothing much else to entertain. Consequently, online casino operators posted record $43 million revenue for the month, despite total gaming revenue dropping by 84%.
The online gaming vertical in the state which includes slot and table games, besides poker, posted a 73% jump compared to the previous month, led by slot machine revenue which more than doubled to $27.3 million. Table games generated 19% growth month-on-month, to $10.5 million.
Another interesting fact from the financial report issued by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is that DraftKings, which recently test-launched its online casino and operated only for the two days of the test, generated revenue higher than BetAmerica for the whole month.
Online revenue numbers in Pennsylvania showed signs of both organic growth, as well as growth stemming from the effects of the ongoing health crisis and the stay-at-home orders. While gaming revenue has been growing consistently since its launch, growth accelerated dramatically during the times of casino closures.