Sports decline hits Pennsylvania gambling revenue in February

In February, Pennsylvania experienced a notable decline in gambling revenue, registering a 4.4% decrease year-on-year. This downturn was particularly evident in the state’s sports betting market, which recorded its lowest monthly revenue figure in three years.

Total commercial gaming revenue for Pennsylvania reached $477.3 million (£367.9 million/€437.6 million), falling short of the $499.1 million reported in February of the previous year and down 9.8% from January 2025’s revenue.

Sports Betting Operators Face Challenges

Recent reports from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board highlight a continuous decline in sports betting revenue. Notably, February marked the third consecutive month of revenue decrease, with a remarkable drop in gross revenue.

The gross sports betting revenue plummeted to just $7.4 million, representing a staggering 75.3% decrease and marking the lowest point since February 2022, which saw a loss of $442,847. While online wagering contributed positively with $10.4 million in revenue, significant losses in the retail market, amounting to $2.9 million, resulted in an overall negative outcome.

This downturn occurred despite a 14.4% increase in player spending compared to the previous year, with total wagers amounting to $756.9 million in February. This comprised $726.7 million in online betting and $30.2 million from retail sportsbooks, leaving the state with a mere monthly hold of 0.98%.

Among operators, only five partnerships managed to generate positive revenue during February. FanDuel, along with Valley Forge Casino Resort, emerged as the leader with an impressive $13.7 million, achieved from $284.5 million in bets, resulting in a hold of 4.82%.

In contrast, Live! Casino Pittsburgh, another FanDuel affiliate, generated the next highest revenue of $145,583 from a handle of $866,247, yielding a 16.43% hold. Rivers Casino and its BetRivers sportsbook followed, reporting a revenue of $115,186 from a $12.1 million handle, translating to a 0.96% hold. Positive revenue contributions also came from Presque Isle Downs, TwinSpires, and Mohegan Lehigh Valley, while prominent partnerships such as DraftKings with Hollywood Casino and BetMGM with Hollywood Casino Morgantown reported losses.

Online Casino Revenue Shows Robust Growth

In contrast to the struggles of the sports betting sector, online casino revenue in Pennsylvania saw a healthy increase. February’s figures indicated that the online casino sector generated $207.6 million, marking a 12.3% growth from the previous year.

This growth was primarily driven by a remarkable 22.6% rise in internet slots revenue, amounting to $154.3 million. However, online table games revenue experienced a decline of 10.1%, dipping to $50.9 million, while internet poker revenue rose marginally by 0.4%, totaling $2.4 million.

Leading the charge in online gaming was Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, which reported an online gambling revenue of $89.5 million, despite a slight decrease of 2.7% year-on-year. Valley Forge Casino Resort also performed commendably, with a revenue increase of 10% to reach $81.4 million. Rivers Casino Philadelphia rounded out the top three operators with $50.7 million in igaming revenue, up 5% from 2024.

Declines in Land-Based Slots and Table Games

On the land-based gambling front, Pennsylvania witnessed revenue declines across nearly all segments.

Retail slots remained the leading source of gambling revenue at $186.3 million, but this figure represented an 8.1% drop from the previous year. Similarly, land-based table games revenue fell by 7.2%, down to $71.2 million.

Additionally, revenue from video gaming terminals (VGT) slightly decreased by 1.2% to $3.2 million. In a positive note, daily fantasy sports revenue rose by an impressive 17.5%, totaling $1.5 million.

On the taxation front, Pennsylvania collected a total of $202.5 million from all forms of gambling in February. Of this total, sports betting contributed a modest $2.7 million due to the aforementioned revenue decline. In contrast, online casino taxes reached $91.8 million, retail slots contributed $94.2 million, and land-based table games provided $11.9 million. VGT tax stood at $1.7 million, while fantasy sports generated $224,393 in tax revenue.