Malina Joseph 
Gaming Industry
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reports a surge in gaming revenue in October. It was up to $597 million, a 20.2% increase from October last year. It is also up over 11% of the revenue generated in September this year. October was one of the strongest months on record for Pennsylvania gaming. All of the legal PA land-based casinos, online casinos, and daily fantasy sports operators combined to deliver the total amount of nearly $600 million.
Online casino revenue
The biggest growth factor across Pennsylvania was the performance of its online casinos. Parx Casino is the largest retail casino and also owns an online casino with some of the best PA slots available on mobile. It also offers competitive sign-up bonuses like many other online casinos. Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course was the best performer in online gaming and accounted for the largest share of the online gaming total.
Online casinos generated the highest adjusted gross revenue of all categories at just over $251 million, surpassing last month’s record. This was a nearly 33% year-over-year increase. Pennsylvania is the third state to generate over $250 million in monthly online gambling revenue, following new records in New Jersey and Michigan.
Slots continue to drive revenue gains
It has been a great year for slots, and land-based slots are still a key source of revenue in Pennsylvania. Slot revenue across the state reached $203 million, and Parx Casino led the state with over $31 million in retail slot revenue. Online slots accounted for nearly $191 million, which is up over 33% from October 2024.
Online poker and table games
Online poker accounted for $2.5 million in revenue in October, and online table games for $57.8 million. This is a new record for online table games.
Individual operators
Among individual operators, Hollywood Casino led the state in October with $114.5 million in total revenue, mostly from its online platforms. Valley Forge Casino followed with $101.3 million, and Rivers Casino in Philadelphia with $57.5 million. Parx Casino brought in $56.1 million.
Penn Entertainment, which includes platforms such as DraftKings and BetMGM, could become the first licensee to reach $100 million AGR in November, as it fell just short of the mark in October. It posted $120.8 million total in October, and this was up over 33% from last year. The $92.5 million in gross slot revenue was up from the $90.6 million total gross revenue in October 2024.
FanDuel Casino may help Valley Forge Casino make a run at nine-figure gross winnings. The licensee brought in a record $92.2 million in revenue in October. Valley Forge can reach $1 billion in gross revenue for the calendar year.
Tax revenue
Busy airports and fully occupied hotels in Pennsylvania are signs of a flourishing economy. PA online casino operators pay 55% in gaming taxes on slots and 16% on live dealer games, poker, and table games.
Tax revenue from all gaming activities was over $289 million for the month. Online gaming alone generated nearly $113 million in state taxes. Sports betting brought in $21.8 million, and retail table games generated $12.8 million.
The taxes help fund critical state infrastructure and public education. Gaming taxes from Pennsylvania online casinos will also help to lower property taxes.
Pennsylvania sports betting
With the growth in the US economy, sports betting is also on the rise. Sports betting revenue for October was a total of $60.7 million on a $968.5 million handle. This included more than $56 million from online betting in Pennsylvania and $4.5 million from retail sportsbooks.
The figure in September for sports betting was at a six-month low, so sports betting revenue this month was a surprise. The total is more than $100 million higher when compared with October 2024 and is likely to continue to rise into 2026.
Sports wagering in October was led by Hollywood Casino at the Meadows with nearly $22 million and Valley Forge with just over $18 million. Hollywood Casino Morgantown was third and brought in $4 million. It will be interesting to see what happens in December with the National Football League season, leading up to the Super Bowl next year.
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