Pennsylvania gambling market projected to set new records in 2022

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Thursday reported $4.73 billion in gaming revenue for 2021, a new annual record. Tax revenue from gaming also was an all-time high at $1.93 billion. While gaming revenue dipped in December to $406.3 million, down from November’s $432.5 million, the state set monthly revenue records in six months in 2021.

Besides, sports wagering revenue for 2021 was $340.1 million, and igaming generated $1.11 billion, both yearly records. The records come a year after Pennsylvania gaming revenue dipped to $2.65 billion because of restrictions and closings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous record revenue was reported in 2019, $3.41 billion.

December sports betting revenue reached $18.8 million, with a total handle of $750.4 million. Both figures are decreases from November when sports betting revenue reached $63.7 million, and the total handle was $761.6 million.

Slot revenue generated the highest total of all forms of gaming, with $$195.5 million, a 363.3% increase over the $42.3 million from December 2020.

As of January 2022, over twenty states have legalized at least sports betting, and all but five are currently operating, with some states even approving some form of online gambling. States like Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have recorded large profits, and according to data from the American Gaming Association, in 2021, the US gambling industry accounted for more than $44 billion in total revenue, in what became the highest-grossing year in the history of legal gambling.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, land-based gambling facilities were forced to halt operations, and online gambling, or iGaming, became the sole choice for American bettors. Even though online gambling already represented a large share of wagers in 2019, lockdowns, health protocols, and social distancing measures in place made the discrepancy become even more accentuated in 2020 and 2021, with states that legalized online betting performing far better.