Penn State, PA – A recent report from the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs have determined that gambling participation in the Keystone State has risen at a steady rate.
According to the Pennsylvania Interactive Gaming Assessment: Online Gambling Report 2023, online gambling participation increased to 16% in 2023 after holding steady at 11% in 2021 and 2022. As a result, online gambling revenue in Pennsylvania’s was more than $2.1 billion in 2023; this is a nearly 27% increase over the preceding year. This spike in popularity and participation from citizens has placed the state among the top three online gambling revenue-generators in the nation.
Pennsylvania was the fourth state that legalized online gambling within their jurisdiction back in 2017. This led its citizens to have access to all kinds of online casino games ranging from slots, card and table games, as well as live dealers that online casino operators offer.
Glenn Sterner, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Penn State Abington, and lead author of the report and Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member, stated that as the state is seeing record revenue and advertising for online gambling, this report serves as a way for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to understand the potential impacts on individuals, families and communities,
“We remain committed to monitoring problem gambling and other issues that may result from greater access to online gambling,” Sterner added.
What is Dual-Gambling?
The study also reported some findings pertaining to the possible development of problematic gambling habits, including the emergence of dual-mode gambling behavior.
Dual-mode gambling involves people who gamble both offline and online. Such gamblers were seen to gamble once a week, while offline-exclusive gamblers played two to three times per month. The study noted that dual-mode gamblers spend almost 15 hours per month gambling, while offline gamblers spend about 1.5 hours per month gambling.
The average gambling expenses per month were higher among dual-mode gamblers at $708 versus offline gamblers at $103, while about one-quarter of dual-mode gamblers earned less than $50,000 annually. These individuals engage in the highest number of gambling formats so long as they can wager real money.
Dual-mode gamblers’ age averaged at 37 years old, with the majority having earned a bachelor’s degree and being currently employed. Sports betting was the most popular online gambling format.
What is Pennsylvania’s Revenue from Gambling for 2024 so far?
On the numbers side, The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board mentioned that the main source of the income from the new all-time high came from retail slots which generated $227.9m during March. This is despite the number of slot machines in the area reducing from 25,643 to 24,886. That said, land-based table games weren’t found to be favored by punters last month, as revenue from this source fell 0.8% to $85.2m.
Online casino games generated monthly gross revenue totaling $191,086,114 during March 2024 compared to $148,189,028 in March 2023, an increase of 28.95%. The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course secured $72.3m in iGaming revenue, which is the highest for operators for the month of March 2024. Valley Forge Casino Resort came in second place, raking in $50.8m, while Rivers Casino Philadelphia sits at third place with $32.8m of revenue.
The same report noted that amid all the casino operators that provide online casino services, their online slot games garnered more revenue than their online table and poker games.
Last Updated on by jonathan r
