PA Casinos Down for 5th Straight Month in February

admin, March 22, 2017 11:29 am

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has released its latest results for February, revealing a 3.65% decline in revenues to $258.6 million, compared to the $268.3 million collected in the same month last year. The revenue decrease also marks a five month losing streak for the state’s 12 casinos, with the market having also fallen in October (-0.9%), November (-1.38%), December (-4.64%) and January (-1.17%).
Table game revenue fell by 2.76% to $66.3 million last month, but the decrease was even more pronounced for slot machines which were lower by 3.95% at $192.3 million versus February of 2016.
Leading the handful of casinos posting year-on-year revenue gains in February was Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin (+7.41%) and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem (+3.42%), while on the other side of the coin, suffering the biggest decreases was SugarHouse Casino (-9.19%), Mohegan Sun Pocono (-8.68%) and the Meadows Casino (-4.96%).
Pennsylvania is considered one of the front-runners to become the USA’s fourth regulated iGaming market, and the continuing downward trend in its casino business may helped incentivize its lawmakers to embrace the industry. Furthermore, 10 of the Keystone State’s 12 casinos have expressed their desire to see online gambling legislation pass, and as a letter signed by nine casinos in October 2016 stated:
“We want to make it abundantly clear that while we all may have differing views on internet gaming, we would all much rather accept internet in lieu of any additional tax. Internet gaming would provide a new source of funds to assist surrounding communities and it protects consumers from the existing illegal market.”
Over the past two years, Pennsylvania officials have held over 80 meeting to explore ways in which to bolster the state’s ailing casino market. According to estimates, Pennsylvania stands to generate $300 million each year from a regulated online gambling market, and on March 28th the state’s House Gaming Oversight Committee is schedule to hold yet another hearing to discuss ways in which to push through legislation.

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