Pennsylvania sets record with $2.54 billion in gambling tax revenue for FY23-24

The Pennsylvania gambling industry contributed a record tax revenue of $2.54 billion to the state during the financial year 2023-2024.

The record tax collection was the result of over $5.89 billion generated from casino slot machines and table games, iGaming, sports wagering, video gaming terminals (VGTs), and fantasy sports contests, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) said in a statement.

The previous record for gaming revenue and tax revenue in a fiscal year was set during FY2022-2023 with $5.5 billion and $2.36 billion respectively.

The tax revenues are distributed to various programs in the state including school property tax reduction on an owner’s primary residence; state, county, and local economic development, safety and recreational projects; support of the agricultural industry through support of horse racing; and revenue toward the Commonwealth’s General Fund.

During the year, gross revenue from slot machines at casinos totaled approximately $2.44 billion, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.56% compared to the $2.452 billion generated in the previous fiscal year.

Individual casino performance varied, with Parx Shippensburg seeing the highest growth of 146.56% to $34.47 million. Harrah's Philadelphia saw a decrease of 12.68% to $109.92 million. The top revenue-generating casinos were Parx Casino with $377.03 million, Wind Creek Bethlehem with $284.31 million, and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh with $265.52 million. Tax revenue from slot machine play, including mandated fees paid by some operators, reached $1.343 billion during the fiscal.

Gross revenue from table games at casinos was $958.03 million, a 1.64% decrease from the $974.02 million generated in the previous fiscal year. The Casino at Nemacolin increased table games revenue by 41.34% to $2.38 million while Harrah's Philadelphia Casino saw a decrease of 22.89% to $26.71 million.

The top revenue-generating casinos for table games were Wind Creek Bethlehem with $252.20 million, Parx Casino with $199.05 million, and Live! Casino Philadelphia with $107.82 million. Tax revenue from the play of table games was $157.58 million.

Revenue from iGaming set a new high for a fiscal year, reaching $1.95 billion, marking a 27.16% increase compared to the $1.53 billion generated in the previous fiscal.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course led the online revenue charts with $751 million while Harrah’s Philadelphia saw the highest percentage increase, with a 103.66% jump to $102.02 million. iGaming contributed $841.66 million in tax revenue.

Meanwhile, sports wagering revenue totaled $486.57 million, a slight decrease of 1.10% from the $491.96 million generated in the previous fiscal year. Valley Forge Casino Resort topped the list with $249.37 million, down 2.38%. Tax revenue from sports wagering for the fiscal amounted to $175.16 million.

iGaming proved to be a key driver for the record FY 2023-2024 performance. With June’s $195.6 million in online casino revenue, Pennsylvania surpassed $7 billion in lifetime iGaming revenue. Through the first six months of 2024, PA iGaming sites have produced a nation-leading gross revenue (GGR) of over $1.26 billion.

“Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in the iGaming vertical, outdoing itself year after year. It also happens to be the biggest driver of net revenue growth for the PA gambling industry year-over-year," said PlayPennsylvania Managing Editor Dave Briggs.

"The state’s online casino sites set a fiscal year record in 2023/2024 with $2.36 billion in gross gaming revenue. That represents a 25.9% YoY increase in iGaming GGR and also translated into $836.8 million in tax revenue for state and local entities.”