PA Reaps 33% Increase in Sports Betting Revenue in November

Pennsylvania has managed to amass strong gains from the launch of mobile gaming and sports betting, with the amount wagered in November increasing 33% from a month before in October.

PGCB Posts November Results

With Pennsylvania launching online sports betting, the state posted one-third better results in November, amassing over $300 million in total sports betting handle. Mobile betting has helped the Keystone State and specifically business in the state collect unprecedent overall handle.

Specifically, the bets went up to $316.5 million, marking a 31.2% increase from October, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported. Online betting soared to the whopping $266.7 million over the period, marking a nearly 85% increase.

The retail market also grew a little, probably riding on the popularity of the online segment with the month-over-month results rising to $49.7 million in total handle. The retail segment managed to generated bigger gross gaming revenue (GGR) at around $20.6 million, but about $5.9 million was spent on advertising, tipping the taxable GGR to $14.7 million – down from the October’s results.

How Did Operators Perform in November?

Operators posted positive developments in November, including the duo between Valley Forge Casino and FanDuel, one of the leading sportsbooks in the U.S., which pulled ahead with total handle worth $153 million. This was 29.6% higher than the previous month, PGCB data showed. Estimated $5.8 million was taxable account income.

FanDuel and Valley Forge were largely unchallenged. Rivers Philadelphia, the freshly rebranded SugarHouse Casino, amassed $41.3 million, a far cry from FanDuel’s results over the month. The next property on the list in November was $30.5 million with $2 million spent on promotional credits.

DraftKings, FanDuel’s main rival, made its first step into the market, owing to a partnership with Meadows Casino. DraftKings only amassed $18.1 million in GGR over the period.

Online Casino Market Remains Strong in Pennsylvania

Mobile gaming and sports betting have been a major boost for the Keystone State. Online slots revenue grew to $140.3 million up to 19.4% and revenue soaring to $5.1 million, or 28.1% more than a month before.

Table games notched up $176.5 million, proving a segment even more lucrative than the bulwark of all online gaming – slots. Revenue for operators from table games soared to $2.6 million. Another interesting development was poker with Mount Airy and the The Stars Group.

Mount Airy is presently the only operator have spearheaded poker, one of the weakest segments in the United States, but very popular in the offshore online gaming business. The Rivers Philadelphia may have come second in terms of sports betting, but the property definitely turned out to be the busiest venue among online gaming players.

The amount wagered in November reached $64.2 million from slots alone. The second biggest in terms of slots revenue was Penn National Gaming. Interestingly, the state’s video gaming terminals (VGTs) also managed to amass a fair chunk of the revenue, estimated $659,288.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.

Macau’s GGR Takes a Tumble in November, 7th Time in 2019

Gross gaming revenue in Macau dropped for the seventh time in 2019 in November, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau revealed, posting the latest results.

Macau’s GGR Drops in November for 7th Month in 2019

Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) took an 8.5% tumble year-over-year in November, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported. The regulator specified that the amount generated by the industry was $2.84 billion stood at November.

Previously, revenue dropped in August when it shrunk by 8.6%. This coincided with analyst forecasts who had been expecting Macau to take hits, occasioned by over-regulation, investigations in Australia, and a simmering trade war between the United States and China.

JP Morgan, an investment bank, said that the contraction was expected, but also better than original forecasts. The daily revenue amounted to nearly $88 million a day, the bank confirmed.

The VIP segment was also affected, registering a 13% drop in overall performance. More importantly, Macau posted a year in which the months of declining revenue exceeded those of positive growth. November was the seventh such month in 2019.

Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd, a brokerage firm with focus on Macau’s gaming sector, also confirmed the numbers, from falling VIP revenue to overall daily handle. A tightening VISA control from the mainland has also been an issue, as Chinese authorities are now more scrupulous about mainland visitors in Macau.

Meanwhile, brokerage Nomura, suggested that December may bring a modest growth for the gaming hub:

“Assuming December GGR increases sequentially in line with its trailing seven-year median, or up roughly 5 to 6 percent versus November, we estimate GGR for the month should settle around MOP24 billion,” said the institution.”

While Macau has a relative freedom to run its business as it sees fit, mainland China still has a big say in what happens. China President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Macau on December 20, marking the official handover of Macau back to China. Analysts predict that this would curb the growth of GGR in December.

Macau Claims $12bn in Taxes until October

While challenges continue, Macau claimed $11.7 billion in tax revenue from the casino gaming sector in the first 10 months of 2019. Despite several months of drops in the overall GGR, Macau generated 0.4% more handle over the period.

Despite the fairly strong results, Macau’s government has pursued a policy of exclusion whereby gambling revenue is never factored as a reliable source of tying up expenditures for the public purse.

Income is duly redistributed, however. Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong has recently said that Macau will focus on protecting public interest above all else.

Having just stepped into his position, the Secretary is committed to optimizing a number of matters related to the gaming industry in Macau, including the existing gaming concession contracts.

While no details about the future of Macau’s gaming have been revealed, it’s certain that management will be introducing changes.

George Hansen

Taking a liking to the occasional bout of slots, George used to moonlight as a roulette dealer, giving him a unique perspective into the casino world. From there he continued his journalist education and has been with us ever since a star-aligned graduation brought him and our team together.