Table games revenue rises in Pennsylvania
The combined slot machine and table games revenue rose 2.6% in May in Pennsylvania.
US.- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported this week the figures that detail May operations in the state. The numbers show that table games revenue for May 2019 was US$76.5 million, an increase of 2.2% over May of last year when revenue was US$74.9 million.
The board reported that when combining May’s table games revenue with the earlier reported May slot machine revenue, total gaming revenue increased by 2.6% compared to May of last year.
Total tax revenue from table games during May totalled US$12.3 million with an average of 1281 tables in daily operation in Pennsylvania. Parx Casino registered the biggest share of gaming revenue to US$53.1 million, up 2.7% from May 2018. In second place comes Wind Creek Bethlehem, which registered US$43.6 million but a 6.3% decrease from the same month last year.
Rivers Casino and SugarHouse were the only facilities in Pennsylvania that reported a double-digit rise in table games revenue in May 2019. The former posted US$32.5 million in total gaming revenue, while the other generated US$28.7 million, which represent a 12.2% and 12% rise, respectively.
Sports betting was down
Pennsylvania registered US$35.3 million on bets on sports in May, which represents a 2.4% decline from April and a 19.3% decline from March. Sports betting generated approximately US$1 million in state and local taxes, and US$7.1 million taxes in total wagers since it launched in November 2018.
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh was the top scoring operator in Pennsylvania and registered US$7.9 million in sports handle, ahead of SugarHouse’s US$7.3 million and Parx’s US$6.8 million. Moreover, Rivers reported US$641k in sports revenue, while SugarHouse totalled US$711k and Parx US$639k.
Once operators launch their online sports betting operations the market will likely grow dramatically. The industry in Pennsylvania is expected to be similar to New Jersey’s where the sports betting industry is bigger on the online side. SugarHouse Casino reported that bettors placed US$573k in online sports bets in just three full days (May 28, 29 and 30) and one half-day of operations (May 31).
