Pennsylvania just misses out to New Jersey despite posting record gambling revenues

Article by : Charles Perrin Jan 23, 2024

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Pennsylvania has labeled 2023 a banner year for the gambling industry after announcing record revenues.

Figures flagged by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) in their year-end report highlighted the varying gaming interests hauled in revenues of $5.697 billion.

Compared to 2022, the revenues posted in 2023 represented a staggering 9.3% year-on-year increase.

Slot machines inside the 17 state casinos performed well, garnering record gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $2.46 bn, a 3% uptick.

Parx Casino, which is based north of Philadelphia, was deemed the top-grossing casino last year. Figures show the property took in $386.2 million on slots and a further $202m on the tables for a combined total of $588.2m.

Meanwhile, Wild Creek Bethlehem sealed second spot after generating GGR of $526.3m, with slots bringing in $285m, while table games contributed $241.3m.

Although some gaming verticals dropped slightly, iGaming has been a driving force behind Pennsylvania’s dizzying rise.

While online gaming operations didn’t go live until 2019, the industry has experienced exponential growth. In 2021, iGaming topped $1.11bn before jumping to $1.36bn in 2022.

Last year, iGaming chalked up $1.74bn, eclipsing the previous record set in 2022 by a whopping 27.7%.

Based on recent trends, there seems no reason to suggest why iGaming can’t exceed the $2bn mark in 2024.

Apart from breaking new ground in terms of annual results, gambling revenues also hit an all-time monthly high in December.

Total market revenue climbed to $534.2m, which surpassed the previous record of $513.3m set in March 2023.

In terms of the wider picture, Pennsylvania was just pipped into second place by New Jersey, who regained that position after announcing record revenues of $5.78bn for 2023 earlier this week.

Nevada has yet to return their casino revenues for 2023, although by November, the state’s venues had raked in more than $14bn.

The battle between the states is always an absorbing contest, but who knows, perhaps Pennsylvania could break up the duopoly of Nevada and New Jersey once again this year.