An overview of igaming revenue in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia, the four states where online gambling is legal in the U.S.
Pennsylvania
It’s exactly one year since the Keystone State launched online gambling, so we now have year-over-year igaming statistics and they are, in a word, astonishing. In August 2019, online-gambling operators generated $3.4 million in revenue. In August 2020, they took in $55.9 million, which not only set a new record (though a meager .18% increase over the $55.8 million set in May, a record nonetheless), but represents a whopping 1,544% increase over the first month of online gambling in the state.
From a handle of more than $1 billion on slot machines, Pennsylvania’s three online casinos held $39.6 million, up .5% from July’s $39.4 million, while table-game revenue reached $13.6 million, up a substantial 12% in July and 26.5% over June. Poker was down 9% to $2.7 million.
As usual, Rivers Philadelphia was the main beneficiary of igaming in Pennsylvania for total revenue for slots of $17.1 million. Valley Forge led at the table games with $4.3 million.
New Jersey
Like Pennsylvania, Internet gaming win in New Jersey set another record, generating $87.8 million in August, though the percentage increase was marginal (.34%) over July’s $87.5 million. Even though Atlantic City casinos were open the entire month of August, health and safety protocols continue to discourage in-person visits to brick-and-mortar casinos.
Online poker was down from a $4.8 million rake in July, thanks to the World Series of Poker’s 31-day U.S. tournament open only to players in New Jersey and Nevada, to just over $3 million (-37.5%).
As is typical, the Golden Nugget enjoyed the greatest percentage of igaming market share, though it was down from 34% in July to 31% in August.
For the month, New Jersey collected $13.2 million in online-gaming taxes, down 11% from July’s $14.8 million.
Delaware
Delaware’s igaming revenues added up to $808,623 in August, a substantial 12.8% increase over July’s $705,533.
Online video lottery games once again accounted for the lion’s share of income, $572,539 from a handle of $11.4 million, an increase of 2.1% over July’s $560,552. The poker rake and fees were $54,584, down 13% from July’s $63,604.
West Virginia
Unlike the other three states with online casino gambling, West Virginia reports weekly instead of monthly, so the igaming revenue number is extrapolated slightly. The West Virginia reporting week starts on Saturday (Saturday August 1 to start, but the last three days of the month, August 29-31, are included in the September 5 numbers; we took the September 5 total, divided by 7 and multiplied by 3 to include the last three days of August).
For the month, West Virginia’s online casino generated $602,351 in gambling revenue and paid $90,353 in taxes (15%). The revenue isn’t broken down by slots or table games.
National
Total igaming revenue for August 2020 in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia added up to $145.1 million, 1.8% higher than July’s total of $142.6 million.
