The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) on March 16 released a report detailing the performance of the state’s gambling industry. Generally speaking, the performance of most sectors was pretty solid especially because they all also have to deal with various efforts that will help to recover from the ravaging economic and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
It is worth noting that, the state kicked off the year on a rather high note but in February there was a slight decline in gaming revenues. Total revenues clocked in at $309.1 million which is still very impressive despite the $2.6 million drop from January.
From an annual perspective, the amount of revenue posted in February was just a little less than 1 percent short of the $304 million that was posted in February 2020. If anything, this is very commendable if we consider the fact that there weren’t as many hurdles during that time as there have been since the pandemic started.
The verticals that posted the most declines were the slots and table games sector which saw declines of 27 percent and 26 percent respectively. That can be attributed to the capacity limits that retail casino venues have had to implement to ensure the safety of their patrons and their employees.
Here is a breakdown of how all the gambling verticals in Pennsylvania performed:
| Type of Gaming Revenue | Feb 2021 | Feb 2020 | % Change |
| Retail Slots Revenue | $145,851,166 | $199,666,274 | -26.95% |
| Retail Tables Revenue | $57,399,564 | $77,426,025 | -25.87% |
| iGaming Slot Revenue | $50,587,113 | $9,633,981 | 425.09% |
| iGaming Tables Revenue | $24,681,267 | $8,026,478 | 207.50% |
| Sports Wagering Revenue | $16,379,807 | $4,722,252 | 246.86% |
| iGaming Poker Revenue | $2,520,078 | $1,830,356 | 37.68% |
| Video Gaming Terminals Revenue | $2,516,556 | $1,341,936 | 87.53% |
| Fantasy Contests Revenue | $2,044,270 | $1,702,439 | 20.08% |
| Total Gaming Revenue | $301,979,821 | $304,349,740 | -0.78% |
Casino Performance
From the table above, it is pretty easy to tell that operators that currently run online casinos had the edge over the others. Online casinos and sports betting have been enjoying increased traffic since early last year and this does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. It is certainly going to be quite the ride for online casino operators, at least until normalcy eventually returns.
Speaking of normalcy, there is still quite a lot that needs to be done before retail gaming and entertainment venues can start allowing more customers to visit. Several developments have already been implemented in this regard but it is not enough to prompt the admission of more patrons into the casino floors. Even so, if all these improvements are anything to go by, things will get even better very soon.