Strong Overall Revenue Covers Up Individual Casinos' Downturn In PA

March was a great month for the Pennsylvania gaming industry. $462.7 million was generated by all forms of gaming, including $118.1 million from online casinos. Another $30.4 million in taxable revenue from sports betting was also a good result.

There were more casinos in Pennsylvania in March than in any other month. The total revenue from the casinos was $309 million. There were 14 casinos operating in the state in 2021. The new casinos brought in $43.8 million more than the old ones. COVID-19 arrived to shut down the industry in mid-March of 2020. It took the $ 43. 8 million from new facilities to make up for the 14.2% drop in earnings by the first 12 gaming venues in PA.

There are four new casinos in Pennsylvania since November 2020. The industry is struggling to compete with the new entrants. In 2021, the 12 original casinos’ slots and tables revenue of $2.87 billion was 12.2% less than in 2019. Online gambling and unregulated skill games are also affecting the industry. The casinos lack some of the customer draws that were taken for granted before March 2020, such as buffets.

Parx is the biggest revenue generator in Pennsylvania. Harrah's Philadelphia is down 38.2% from 2019 and 6.7% in 2021. Hollywood Casino at Penn National has a 29% decline from 2018 to 2021 and a 14.1% drop from 2021, because of the opening of two mini-casinos in the central Pennsylvania market.

The table below shows the present casinos ranked in March revenue from most to least. The table also reflects their changes since March 2021 and March 2019. A satellite mini-casino of Parx is slated to open in Shippensburg by the end of the year and another mini casino is planned for the Penn State/State College area.