Pennsylvania has reported a 23.5% decline in sports betting revenue for April, with a weaker month for Rush Street’s Rivers and SugarHouse venues allowing Parx Casino to take top spot in the market.
Total revenue fell to $4.2m (£3.3m/€3.8m), with handle down 17.4% to $36.8m, for a hold of 11.5%. This decline came despite full month contributions from betting at eight venues, up from six in March.
Leading the market was Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment’s Kambi-powered offering at Parx Casino, though it saw revenue fall 7.8% to $907,298. A total of $6.9m was wagered via the venue.
Parx’s South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook generated revenue of $441,692 from handle of $2.6m, while its Valley Forge Race & Sportsbook’s revenue of $195,856 represented the only month-on-month increase in revenue across all operators in April.
Parx was able to take the lead after the Kambi-powered, Rush Street-operated Rivers and SugarHouse Casinos both reported significant drops in revenue. Rivers’ sports betting revenue fell from $1.3m in March to $871,753 – though its $8.2m handle was the largest in the market – while revenue for SugarHouse was down 36.9% to $781,163.
Elsewhere, the FanDuel-powered offering at Boyd Gaming’s Valley Forge Casino Resort generated revenue of $379,731. This was down from $449,597 in the previous month, generated from March 13.
The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, in partnership with William Hill, saw revenue decline 30.8% to $361,249, and Caesars’ Harrah’s Philadelphia contributed a further $282,740.
The decline in revenue saw the state’s tax take decline 23.5% to $1.5m in April. Of this total, $1.4m went to the state via the 34% tax on sports betting revenue, with an additional $84,430 going to the local authorities where each venue is based.
Operators are currently in the process of preparing for the launch of online wagering in the state, though live testing, originally expected to begin within two to three weeks from April 18, is yet to take place.