Area casinos see drop in internet gaming revenue in August
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Total revenue increased in August compared to August 2020 at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Twp. while it decreased at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County, but both casinos saw drops in internet gaming revenue.
Total revenue increased nearly 12% at Mohegan Sun Pocono from about $19.5 million in August 2020 to $21.8 million in August 2021 while it dropped at Mount Airy Casino Resort more than 11% from about $27 million to $24 million in the same time frame, according to numbers released Monday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Internet gaming revenue declined nearly 22% at Mount Airy from nearly $6.9 million to about $5.4 million and more than 35% at Mohegan Sun Pocono from nearly $3 million to nearly $2 million in August 2021 compared to August 2020, according to the board.
“Certainly, some more online competition may have pulled numbers down,” said Doug Harbach, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Overall, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported that combined total revenue from casinos statewide and all forms of gaming regulated by the board along with fantasy contests was more than $408 million. That marks a 31% increase over total revenue in August 2020 of about $310.7 million.
The sources of gaming revenue that the board revenue regulates include slot machines, table games, internet casino-type gaming, sports wagering, fantasy contests and video game terminals.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s revenue report for August 2021 showed sports betting handle amounted to more than $348.5 million, up 14.5% from July. The sports betting online handle was about $318 million, up 15.5% from July. Sports betting revenue was about $18 million, down 9.3% from July. Mobile sports betting was about 91% of the market in August.
Lou Monaco, sports betting analyst for the Gambling.com Group, said the August numbers released Monday “certainly were cause for celebration as sports betting numbers across the board showed significant increases, snapping a three-month decline in total handle.”
“With the Phillies still in contention in the National League East and with the Eagles, Steelers, Penn State all showing good starts to their football seasons, numbers will only increase during the autumn months,” Monaco said.
