The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported $505.9 million in taxable gaming revenue for September on Thursday, a modest 6.2% year-over-year gain boosted by double-digit percentage gains from both internet casino gaming and sports betting.
Taxable revenue for iGaming ticked 10.8% higher to $176.7 million as year-to-date adjusted gross operator winnings surpassed $1.5 billion. Revenue declined 3.8% from the $183.7 million reported for August. Gross revenue totaled $227.4 million, the second-highest tally in state history behind the $233.1 million reported in March.
An aggressive spend by online sportsbooks — which lavished a record $43 million in credits and bonuses — contributed to $53.5 million AGR from a gross revenue amount of $95.8 million. That was up 46.1% compared to last year and ranked fifth overall.
Both disciplines were able to absorb a 1.7% decline in casino revenue to $270.4 million. The loss for table games revenue was slightly sharper at 2.3% to $73.4 million compared to a 1.5% drop in slots to nearly $197 million.
Overall, the state collected $211.2 million in taxes across the gaming verticals, with $51.1 million coming from internet casino gaming. The $6.21 billion wagered through iGaming casino platforms was the second-highest in state history behind March's $6.43 billion and the fifth overall to clear $6 billion.
Hollywood Casino Continues to Rule Roost
Hollywood Casino, which counts DraftKings, BetMGM and its own internal app as its online skins, combined for $66.9 million in revenue, up 3.2% compared to last September. The trio did more with less as total drop across all disciplines slipped 9.1% from a record $2.84 billion to $2.58 billion.
Valley Forge, home to FanDuel, had a more substantial year-over-year gain at 33% to $47.1 million. Its action increased significantly to $1.73 billion, second-most to the $1.75 billion worth of play in March and up 37.2% from September 2023.
BetRivers was the only other iGaming platform to reach eight figures and surpassed $30 million for the sixth time in seven months at $31.5 million. That was a 7.7% increase that slightly outpaced the 4.7% bump in drop to $893.7 million.
Harrah's was a clear-cut No. 4 in revenue with close to $8.5 million, while the $4.7 million claimed by Golden Nugget was enough to complete the top five despite a 4.9% decline. PARX Casino and Live! also surpassed $4 million in revenue but were going in different directions , as PARX's revenue declined 28.3% from last September and Live! reported a 42.5% increase.
Parx, Wind Creek Again 1-2 in Brick-and-Mortar Winnings
Parx Casino and Wind Creek continued their monthly tussle atop brick-and-mortar casino revenue verticals. Parx maintained the top spot for slots with $30.2 million, though Wind Creek narrowed the gap slightly. Its $24.2 million winnings was a 2.1% improvement compared to the 4.3% decline for Parx.
The two flipped positions for table games revenue, though the gap also narrowed. Wind Creek had a 9.6% decline in revenue to just shy of $18 million, while Parx had a smaller downturn at 3.2% to $15.5 million.
Rivers' Pittsburgh-based casino took the final podium spot for slot revenue at $20.7 million, while Hollywood Casino at the Meadows pipped Mount Airy for the No. 5 spot at $13.4 million thanks to a 6.1% increase in revenue, while Mount Airy reported a 4.9% decline.
Live! Casino retained Philadelphia city bragging rights against Rivers for third in table games with $8.7 million, but Rivers posted a 12.8% year-over-year increase to narrow the gap and come $16,600 shy of $7 million.
