Pennsylvania Gaming Revenue Hits All-Time Record For Fiscal Year
Pennsylvania casinos generated more revenue than they have in any previous fiscal year, a total of $3.23 billion.
The top-line figures for PA gambling
The news from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was almost all good for PA gambling revenue for the fiscal year that ended on June 30:
- The revenue from FY 2015-16 was the third straight year of growth after a dip in 2013-14.
- Revenue increased more than $112 million, year over year, a jump of 3.6 percent.
- Nearly half of that increase came from table games, which is noteworthy as slots generate about three times as much revenue.
- The state generated $1.4 billion in tax revenue for the fiscal year.
Here is a look at the history of PA gambling from the PGCB:
June numbers were actually down
June did not see year-over-year growth, despite the big annual numbers, ending a run of nine straight months of YoY increases.
While table games were up about two percent ($1.4 million) from June 2015, slot machines were down one percent ($2.1 million). That resulted in a slight overall down-tick from last June.
Winners and losers for PA casinos
Sands Bethlehem was the clear big winner in the state, seeing the biggest increase in table-game revenue and the second-biggest increase in slot revenue. All told, Sands took in $533 million for the fiscal year.
Still, Philadelphia’s Parx Casino led the way in overall revenue ($543 million) while also posting big increases for both table games and slots.
Hollywood Casino at Penn National is the only casino to experience losses on both table games and slots, down $2.1 million overall. Harrah’s and Rivers Casino were also down for the fiscal year.
Could the current fiscal year see online gambling revenue?
Will there be even more revenue from online gambling in the next fiscal year?
The legislature passed a tax revenue package that counts on gambling for $100 million; a big part of that figure is online gambling. A bill regulating and legalizing PA online gambling and poker has not yet been passed, but is slated to be taken up in the fall.
Even if it is passed, it’s not clear that any online gambling sites will be up and running during the current fiscal year. A better bet would be FY 2017-18.