Online Casinos Keep Surging as Pennsylvania’s Retail Market Stalls

Online casino revenue continued its spectacular run in September in the Keystone state, up by almost a third over September 2024. The $233 million total was a 32.1% jump, which is just a massive increase in 12 months and bound to stir some conversations in Harrisburg, though $181 million of that total was from online slots, which the state taxes at 54%.  So whether there will be alarm or euphoria is a bit hard to discern. It’s worth noting that the slot revenue number is up 37% from the prior year.

Online table drop was another $50 million, good for a 17% increase,  while iPoker came in at $2.3 million, up 4%. While the numbers were very good and even slightly ahead of last month’s, they weren’t good enough for a record in a year which has yet to see a month where the year-over-year increase in total online casino revenue was not at least 20%.

There are 19 online casino operators in PA which partner with various land-based casinos with skins, and so Pennsylvania doesn't break online gaming operators out of any revenue, but instead lists their land-based partners' total revenue. In this case, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course had a total of 87 million in iGaming revenue, while Valley Forge Casino did $66 million, and Rivers Casino Philadelphia rounded out the top three with $35 million.

The state’s brick-and-mortar business was not as robust. Land-based slots declined by 2.7% to $194 million, just $13 million ahead of their online slot counterparts, and table game revenue was flat at $73 million.

Overall, that was a 1.5% decline year over year, which, when viewed against the rapid rise of online gaming, is bound to eventually lead to some hard questions about the future of brick and mortar in the State. Some studies indicate that despite the 54% tax rate, the Return To Player (RTP) on online slots can be as much as 3% higher in Pennsylvania than in brick-and-mortar slots. One would suspect due to still decreased costs associated with online gaming vs brick and mortar.

Parx Casino led the pact in retail slots with $29 million, down 4%, Wind Creek Bethlehem was off 11% YOY to $21 million, and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh came in flat at $20 million. In land-based table games, we see Wind Creek out in front with $18.5 million in revenue, up 3.5%. Parx is second here at $16.8 million, up 9%, while Live!Philly comes in at $8 million, flat to last September.

While online casinos surged and brick and mortar was basically unchanged year over year, it was the sportsbooks, especially Pennsylvania online sportsbooks, that were hammered with even more “player-friendly” outcomes in September as the NFL season got underway in earnest.

Handle, or the total amount wagered, rose to over $850 million in the month, up more than 65% from August 2025 which didn’t have regular season NFL or college football up and running for the full month, but revenue fell 44.5% to just  $29 million. $24 million of which came from online sports betting and another $5.3 million of which came from land-based sports betting.

Revenue before promotional spending would have given an 8.4% hold to the books, but due to $42 million in promotional football kickoff money, that number is closer to 3.5%.

Overall revenue was $535 million, a year-over-year increase of 6%. Total taxes from sports wagering were $10.7 million, with another $12 million from land-based table games and $96 million from retail slots. Online casino revenues with tables and slots combined added another $106 million to the total for a combined $228 million for the month, added to the state's coffers.

September’s results highlight a shifting center of gravity in Pennsylvania’s gaming landscape. Online casinos continue to post eye-popping gains while retail properties wrestle with flat to slowly declining numbers. This underscores a steady migration from floor to phone.

Online gaming taxes will soon surpass those of these land-based establishments, which will leave the state’s legislators with some tough questions. How to balance the preservation of these legacy casino jobs in some already hard-hit economic areas with the undeniable momentum being seen in the digital space that is only building speed month after month.