Following the signing of the Pennsylvania online gambling expansion bill last year, the Keystone State has received more than $385 million from licensed operators, surpassing the state budget estimates.
The passing of the bill came as a final resort by Pennsylvania lawmakers looking to improve last year’s budget deficit in light of pending issues. The Keystone State had already offered its residents a number of licensed land-based casino gambling locations.
The online gambling bill, along with the Supreme Court decision on the UIGEA Act last May significantly changed the legal landscape. Opportunities opened for comprehensive online casino games like online slots, table games, online poker, and sports betting suite.
$385 Million Revenue – Breaking Down The Numbers
Jessica Welman
The analysis conducted by lawmakers ended up a little over the half-way point from the actual situation, as initial state projections aimed at gathering a total of $200 million. Nevertheless, with the year coming to a close, analysts from the PlayPennsylvania platform have conducted their own calculations. Jessica Welman, a PlayPennsylvania.com analyst, stated the following:
“The most notable aspect of the significant revenue that has been generated is that this is almost completely from fees, rather than tax revenue gained from gamblers. Clearly, there is enough interest in Pennsylvania’s enormous market so far to generate the fees.”
It has been estimated that such profit has been achieved from the following sources:
| Profit Source | Revenue |
|---|---|
| Mini-casino auctions | $128 million |
| Casino licensing expenses | $78 million |
| Interactive gambling application | $94 million |
| Sports betting licensing | $60 million |
| Daily Fantasy Sports taxes | $1.4 million |
| iLottery | $19.6 million |
| Keno | $3.6 million |
| Virtual sports | $87,000 |
What’s to Come For Pennsylvania Online Gambling Profits?
Seeing it get off with a good start is bound to have all parties hyped about the future of Pennsylvania’s online gambling industry. While interactive gambling and sports betting sites are yet to open, Hollywood Casino was the first to start operations in their sportsbook establishments.
Online Sports Betting On The Rise
Dustin Gouker
Ultimately, sports betting has been identified as the future driving source of revenue, as lead sports betting analyst Dustin Gouker claims:
“The addition of retail sports betting should help buoy a slowing Pennsylvania casino industry. If New Jersey is any indication, though, the more significant revenue generator will be online sports betting. A successful rollout there should generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state.”
With projected expectations of up to $34 billion gambling revenue in the fiscal year 2018/19, Pennsylvania lawmakers’ legislation move is already considered a success.
