The good news for Pennsylvania’s online sports betting industry is a 68% increase in May revenue against the same month last year. The bad news, according to PlayPennsylvania.com is a loss of $275 million in potential business.
Online sports betting in the Keystone State was growing at an incredible clip before the coronavirus shut down live sports and sporting events in mid-March. With next to nothing on the board through the end of April, monthly revenue plunged.
May brought more betting opportunities that raised revenue figures to a much more respectable level. Unfortunately, everything that was still ‘off the board’ cut deep into gaming potential.
The biggest boost will come from the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Both professional leagues are hoping to return to live-action in late July or early in August. The return of the PGA Tour and several international soccer leagues should aid revenue figures for the month of June.
Another big plus in the state will be land-based sports betting in Pennsylvania casinos. Most gambling venues in the western part of the state were given the green light to reopen their doors for business earlier in June. The eastern part of the state, including the Philadelphia area, should be back in business by the key 4th of July holiday weekend.
Horse betting has also been negatively impacted by the current pandemic. Pennsylvania tracks were forced to remain idle while tracks in states such as Florida, Arkansas, and Louisiana forged on with their daily cards.
Penn National reopened for business on June 19 and Parx is to resume live racing later in June as the two biggest Thoroughbred tracks in the state.
Harrah’s Philadelphia Racetrack and The Meadows are also open for business as two harness racing facilities.
Online casino gambling in PA posted a record $55.8 million in revenue the month of May according to PlayPennsylvania.com. Online poker accounted for $4.6 million of the take.
The online gaming revenue figure for April was $43.1 million following strong numbers in March when the land-based gaming venues were forced to close their doors.
Going back to April 23, Caesars Sportsbook launched its online casino. DraftKings joined the list on May 1. This increased PA’s total iGaming options for casino gambling to 10 sites including Hollywood Casino, Parx, Unibet, and the PA Lottery.
The PA iLottery also got an immediate boost from various land-based closures. Through May’s online revenue, it has now surpassed $1 billion in sales since its inception. PA residents used a lot the PA lottery bonus code at registration which gave them an advantage.
Dustin Gouker is a lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. His thoughts on the state’s gaming industry were as follows:
May was another challenging month for Pennsylvania’s gaming industry, but it appears that it will be the last month of online casinos and poker rooms being the only bearer of good news.
He went on to add:
The casinos that have recently reopened appear to be experiencing relatively strong traffic. And sports bettors are finding increasingly more to bet on. Recovery for the entire sports betting industry will be a long road, but there are reasons for optimism.
