Pennsylvania casinos and other gaming channels brought in nearly $472 million in revenue during June, up 7.15 percent compared to a year earlier, according to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) on Thursday.

That uptick led to a massive haul for the state, with the PGCB reporting that Pennsylvania collected over $198 million in taxes for the month. 

iGaming, Sports Betting Lead the Way in PA

While numbers were up in most categories, two areas were primarily responsible for the increase. 

First, there was iGaming. Online gambling was up across the board, with slots bringing in $119.4 million – up 21.6 percent from last June’s $98.2 million – while virtual table games generated another $39 million in revenue, compared to $34.8 million last year. 

The second growth area was sports betting. The state’s sportsbooks brought in $29.9 million on $464.5 million in handle. That was up from $23.1 million from bookmakers last year, marking a massive 29.6 percent increase. In reality, this was yet another sign of increase internet-based play, as online sportsbooks accounted for $28.5 million, or 95.2 percent of total sports betting revenue. 

Hollywood Casino at Penn National continues to be the leading revenue generator in the state, posting $74.1 million in total winnings for the month. But the most notable winner may have bene Valley Forge, which saw its revenues increase nearly 24.8 percent year-over-year, far surpassing Parx Casino for second place with $63.9 million.

Poker, Mohegan Struggle in June

Only six of the 18 casinos that were in operation last June experienced year-over-year losses. The hardest hit was Mohegan Pennsylvania, which dropped nearly 12.5 percent to $17.26 million in revenue for the month.

Fantasy sports contests make up a small portion of the state’s gaming revenue, bringing in just $966,589 for the June, though that still represented a 13.9 percent year-over-year improvement. Most other aspects of the state’s gaming industry were about flat compared to 2023, with one exception: online poker, which was down 9.3 percent to $2.2 million.

Overall, Pennsylvania is the second-largest commercial gaming market in the country. According to data from the American Gaming Association, the state ranked only behind Nevada ($1.32 billion) and ahead of neighboring New Jersey ($510 million) in May, when Pennsylvania brought in a reported $521 million in revenue – with a total market of $576 million, according to the AGA’s estimates.

(Image: Michal Sikorski / Alamy)