In March 2019, the Keystone State established a new market record thus setting some rather high expectations for the months that would follow. Unfortunately, things took a rather unanticipated turn in April when the state posted falling gambling revenue.
The Slump in Slot Machine and Table Game Revenue
According to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the state’s 12 casino operators generated combined table game and slot machine revenue of $277.8 million in April. This figure represented a decline of a little over 1 percent when compared to the same month last year. Moreover, it was a significant drop from the $309.2 million that was recorded in March 2019 – these revenue figures from March also happen to be an all-time high for the state.
It is, however, worth noting that the state’s table games’ performance was acceptable, to say the least, and this is because they did quite a lot to keep the April revenue numbers up. Table game revenue actually saw a 3.7 percent year-on-year increases to $77.4 million. Slot machine revenue, on the other hand, went down 2.8 percent to $200.4 million. Naturally, this had a significant impact on gaming revenue especially if we consider just how dependent the state’s gaming industry is dependent on slot machines.
| Casino | April 2019 Total Gaming Revenue | April 2018 Total Gaming Revenue | % Change |
| Parx Casino | $51,259,416 | $52,128,335 | -1.67% |
| Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem | $47,031,211 | $43,695,442 | 7.63% |
| Rivers Casino | $31,294,242 | $30,471,550 | 2.70% |
| SugarHouse Casino | $28,462,036 | $25,884,105 | 9.96% |
| Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course | $20,727,328 | $21,677,320 | -4.38% |
| Harrah’s Philadelphia | $20,648,441 | $24,083,424 | -14.26% |
| The Meadows Casino | $19,534,043 | $21,775,693 | -10.29% |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $19,285,858 | $20,785,616 | -7.22% |
| Mount Airy Casino Resort | $14,142,806 | $16,291,240 | -13.19% |
| Valley Forge Casino Resort | $11,765,486 | $10,146,745 | 15.95% |
| Presque Isle Downs and Casino | $11,210,451 | $11,377,257 | -1.47% |
| Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin | $2,446,510 | $2,529,415 | -3.28% |
| Statewide Total | $277,807,829 | $280,846,142 | -1.08% |
April Sports Betting Revenue Breakdown
There has been a lot of buzz around the state’s sports betting market since it went live late last year. For a while, things seemed to be looking up for the industry but lately, sports betting in the land-based venues is beginning to decline. According to some industry experts, the solution to this problem might be a “digital jump-start” and thankfully the first online sportsbooks in the state are set to go live in the next few weeks or so.
All the land-based sportsbooks in Pennsylvania reported total revenue of $4.22 million in April – this was a decline of a whopping $1.3 million from March. Clearly, something needs to be done.
| Sportsbook | April Handle | April Revenue | March Revenue | +/- | Taxes |
| Rivers | $8,159,827 | $871,753 | $1,344,398 | -35.2% | $313,831 |
| SugarHouse | $7,920,797 | $781,163 | $1,237,301 | -36.9% | $281,219 |
| Parx | $6,850,305 | $907,298 | $984,339 | -7.8% | $326,627 |
| Hollywood | $3,923,499 | $361,249 | $521,864 | -30.8% | $130,050 |
| Valley Forge | $3,050,424 | $379,731 | $449,597 | -15.5% | $136,703 |
| Harrah’s Philadelphia | $2,718,595 | $282,740 | $326,752 | -13.5% | $101,786 |
| South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbook | $2,603,808 | $441,692 | $534,253 | -17.3% | $159,009 |
| Valley Forge Race and Sportsbook | $1,541,891 | $195,856 | $120,836 | +62.1% | $70,508 |
| Totals | $36,769,145 | $4,221,482 | $5,519,340 | -23.5% | $1,519,734 |
