Pennsylvania Casino Hopes COVID Casino Will Boost Revenue
Revenue from Pennsylvania casinos is at an all-time low. The revenue dropped by $800 million in the last financial year compared to 2019. The main reason for this drop is the coronavirus pandemic that has plagued the industry-leading to closures and limited capacities.
Experts reveal that the casino industry will find it difficult to return to its pre-coronavirus numbers. While there is nothing wrong with being hopeful, one analyst suggests it is “crazy to think that the casino industry will normalize soon.”
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board mentioned that the 13 casinos in the state generated a combined $2.6 billion in 2020, 22% down from $3.4 billion in 2019. This was mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic that led to the casinos’ closure for the better part of the year.
The total figures include revenue from table games, gaming terminals, internet gaming outlets, sports betting, and other gaming outlets.
Tax revenue for the last financial year also took a hit. It was down by 22%, although t was able to cross the $1 billion mark.
It is not all doom and gloom for the Pennsylvania Gaming environment. There were some notable increments in sports betting and internet betting. This was due to the fact that more persons stayed indoors and had the convenience of betting from their mobile phones and laptops.
The Effect of Coronavirus on Pennsylvania Casinos
Physical casino outlets were closed for close to 4 months because of the pandemic. The closure lasted from March till the start of June when few casinos started opening their doors. While a certain level of normalcy was achieved from September, a spike in coronavirus cases in December, as well as other local conditions, led to another closure of individual casinos across the state.
Nevertheless, online gaming continued. Sports betting took a massive increase with a revenue boost totaling 126%.
What next?
The fact that online betting showed lots of potential during the pandemic gives hope to the industry.
But the main question on everyone’s lips at the moment is whether or not the brick and mortar establishments will be able to recover?
“We’re not going back to the way it was, and anybody that thinks we are is crazy,” said Alan Woinski, CEO of Gaming USA Corp. He predicts that it will take 3 to 5 years to bridge the revenue gap caused by the pandemic.
Even with the vaccine administration, he said customers would have gone close to 24 months without using casinos regularly, and as such, they would have to alert their spending habits.
