Odds are good for gambling in pandemic
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Jan. 25—Fewer people gambled in casinos in Pennsylvania in 2020.
Is anyone surprised?
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board recently issued a report that detailed that fact, outlining how one of the state's newest and fastest growing industries faced the same kind of problems many others did during the coronavirus pandemic.
Total revenues fell $759 million, but if you look at the top two categories — the ones everyone tends to think of when they think about casinos — it should have been so much more.
Slot machines were the first casino gambling allowed in Pennsylvania starting in 2006. Their revenue has grown steadily since. Until last year. In 2019, the one-armed bandits pulled in $2.3 billion. In 2020, they netted only $1.3 billion.
Table games were legalized in 2010, but it didn't take them long to escalate the amount of money they accumulated, with the meter rapidly approaching the point where it will tick over from millions to billions. The 2019 total was $903.5 million. In the last year, it dropped to $504.3 million.
Put those two numbers together, and you get a drop of $1.39 billion. So where did the casinos get the other $640.2 million?
Through expansion. The casino industry is making money in a lot more ways than originally was approved 15 years ago. Over that time, the different ways to put your money on the line have slowly crept up. Sports betting. Fantasy contests. Online gambling. Video terminals.
Online gambling — or, iGaming — might be the one that has made the most difference in closing that 2020 gap. Although it was introduced only in July 2019, iGaming went from $33.5 million that year to $565.7 million in 2020. That represents 88% of the money that closed the gap on the slot machine and table game shortfall.
That's an example of what all industries should be doing in the pandemic when closures and distancing have affected what can be open, how long it can be open and how many people can be there while it's open. It's a creative pivot from one thing that can't be done — sitting at a casino slot machine — to something they can — playing a similar game on the internet.
While creative fixes are found, we can't ignore the complications that can arise by replacing one thing with another.
The economy isn't as solid as it was in January 2020. The people at home using online gambling have a much higher chance of being unemployed than they did a year ago. Making gambling more convenient at a distance might help the gambling industry and its employees, but it might not be the best move for all Pennsylvanians.
But if the numbers tell us anything, it is that if you are betting on any sector of the hospitality industry to survive the pandemic, the odds are good for gambling.
Visit The Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.triblive.com
