The United States’ gambling industry is slowly inching towards a return to normalcy despite all of the uncertainty that came with the coronavirus pandemic. These efforts are slowly beginning to pay off and this can be seen from states like Pennsylvania where despite the limitations that gambling businesses have to operate under, we are beginning to see some resurgence.
According to the latest revenue figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, gambling in the Keystone State is, in most part, nearing a return to normalcy. The state’s brick-and-mortar gambling revenues in August brought in a whopping $310.7 million which is nearly a 6 percent jump from the $293.4 million that venues brought in during the same period last year. From this, state coffers received over $128.8 million in tax revenue.
Here is a breakdown of individual casino performance:
| Source | August 2020 Total Revenue | August 2019 Total Revenue | % Change |
| Parx Casino | $58,823,015 | $54,971,659 | 7.01% |
| Rivers Casino Philadelphia | $39,547,214 | $28,342,493 | 39.53% |
| Wind Creek Bethlehem | $33,374,754 | $44,984,261 | -25.81% |
| Hollywood Casino at Penn National | $28,570,431 | $21,467,866 | 33.08% |
| Valley Forge Casino Resort | $27,752,508 | $14,733,932 | 88.36% |
| Mount Airy Casino Resort | $27,060,563 | $17,557,534 | 54.13% |
| Rivers Casino Pittsburgh | $24,802,872 | $32,243,532 | -23.08% |
| Harrah’s Philadelphia | $20,421,591 | $20,683,822 | -1.27% |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $19,500,220 | $20,473,355 | -4.75% |
| The Meadows Casino | $15,354,159 | $20,897,146 | -26.53% |
| Presque Isle Downs and Casino | $8,704,351 | $12,216,447 | -28.75% |
| Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin | $2,398,566 | $3,417,186 | -29.81% |
| Video Gaming Terminals | $2,247,898 | $56,221 | — |
| Fantasy Contests | $2,134,494 | $1,388,631 | 53.71% |
| Live! Casino Philadelphia | $25,091 | — | — |
| Statewide Total | $310,717,728 | $293,434,087 | 5.89% |
Huge Win for Some Game Types
While the overall revenue figures were certainly impressive, to say the least, some game types of verticals performed exceptionally better than others. This was expected especially because the pandemic did not affect all gaming verticals in the same way.
Online gambling was one of the sectors that did not suffer as much after the pandemic hit and it continues to thrive despite being a relatively new business in the state. In August, online gambling platforms in Pennsylvania generated about $55.4 million – this is a huge development especially considering the fact that they made only $3.4 million in August 2019. This 94 percent rise in revenue can certainly not be ignored.
Needless to say, due to pandemic, a number of sporting activities went under leaving sports betting operators in a bit of a tight spot. However, it was not doom and gloom for all sports wagering-related gambling activities. The fantasy sports segment was the clear winner in this case – the sector brought in $2.1 million in August, a 54 percent jump from the amount that the sector generated in August 2019.
Evidently, things are beginning to look up for the gambling industry and there is a lot of optimism regarding the resurgence of all gambling activities. Lots of people are quite excited about sports betting as more sports resume activities. More casinos are also now reopening.