Last week, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) released the revenue figures for the state’s gaming sector in November. 2020 has been a challenging year and thus it came as no surprise when the report revealed a year-over-year decline in gaming revenue.
According to the gaming control board, in November the state’s gambling industry generated a total of $284,267,329. Even though this is a noticeable 2.68 percent decline from what was generated over the same period last year, it still represents an impressive fete for the industry especially considering how challenging this year has been.
Compared to October, the overall gaming revenue decline by 11.5 percent. This was also somewhat expected due to the increased push for strict measures to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
New Records for Online Gaming and Sports Betting
Naturally, the retail gambling sector was bound to take the biggest hit due to the pandemic. Online gambling and sports betting, on the other hand, received a boost as more people switched to online casinos to fulfill their gaming needs.
Pennsylvania’s online gambling industry brought in a whopping $59.8 million, a mind-blowing 516.5 percent increase from what was recorded during the same period last year. It was also significantly higher than what the gaming control board recorded for October 2020. From the total iGaming revenue, online slots, table games, and online poker brought in $39.4 million, $18 million, and 2.4 million respectively.
Sports betting also performed exceptionally well in November – online wagers accounted for $31.2 million while retail sports betting accounted for $6.2 million of the $37.4 million. Overall, the total amount from the sports betting vertical was a 153.7 percent increase from the same period last year.
Significant Legacy Losses
Despite the impressive performance of the sports betting and iGaming sectors, retail gaming still struggled to keep up. For instance, the gross gaming revenue (GGR) from physical slot machines decreased by nearly 32 percent while table game revenue dropped by up to 30 percent.
Consequently, the total gaming revenue took a bit of a hit. Still, most of what occurred fall squarely on the pandemic and how it continues to impact various industries across the state and the country as a whole.
The table below further summarizes gambling revenue in the Keystone State by type:
| Type of Gaming Revenue | Nov 2020 | Nov 2019 | % Change |
| Retail Slots Revenue | $129,530,805 | $189,333,840 | -31.59% |
| Retail Tables Revenue | $52,336,318 | $74,739,560 | -29.98% |
| I-Gaming Slot Revenue | $39,393,804 | $5,093,788 | 673.37% |
| Sports Wagering Revenue | $37,350,246 | $14,720,686 | 153.73% |
| I-Gaming Tables Revenue | $17,972,466 | $2,596,529 | 592.17% |
| Fantasy Contests Revenue | $3,015,062 | $2,981,157 | 1.14% |
| I-Gaming Poker Revenue | $2,409,235 | $1,965,494 | 22.58% |
| Video Gaming Terminals Revenue | $2,259,393 | $659,288 | 242.70% |
| Total Gaming Revenue | $284,267,329 | $292,090,342 | -2.68% |