Pennsylvania Smashes Record For Gambling Revenue With Nearly $3.9 Billion Reported In A Year
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP/KDKA) — Pennsylvania smashed its record for gambling revenue, state regulators said Monday, reporting nearly $3.9 billion in the last fiscal year as every category of wagering showed growth in one of the nation's largest casino and gambling states.
The rebound comes after pandemic-related shutdowns helped knock casino revenue down significantly.
The nearly $3.9 billion from 14 operating casinos, fantasy sports operators and truck stops for the fiscal year ending June 30 beat the previous high, two years ago, by about 17% and last year's take by more than 40%, according to figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Revenue in casinos from slot machines, at just under $1.9 billion, and from table games, at $721 million, remains lower than record highs in previous years.
But other, newer categories leaped to new record highs.
Online casino gambling grew to nearly $900 million in just its second year, while sports betting grew to $309 million in just its third year. Pennsylvania legalized both as part of an aggressive gambling expansion in 2017.
Gambling revenue also benefited from the opening of two new casinos, Live! Casino Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh.
Live! Casino Pittsburgh opened its doors at Westmoreland Mall back in late November 2020 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pennsylvania dropped behind New Jersey in traditional casino gambling revenue in 2020, eight years after it passed New Jersey to become the nation's No. 2 gambling revenue state behind Nevada, according to figures compiled by the American Gaming Association.
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