Fuelled by a diverse offering that runs from traditional land-based casino slots to iGaming and the gaming industry in the American state of Pennsylvania has reportedly now fully recovered from the various impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a Monday report from the American news website at TheCenterSquare.com citing a recent study from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, the eastern state’s aggregated gross gaming revenues are expected to top $5 billion this year, which would be some 56% beyond the about $3.2 billion chalked up for the whole of pre-pandemic 2018. The source explained that Pennsylvania has also benefitted from a number of recent additions that encompassed the premiere of so-called ‘miniature casinos’ alongside the legalization of fantasy sportsbetting.
Cheery coffers:
Frank Gamrat serves as the Executive Director for the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy and he reportedly noted that aggregated gross gaming tax revenues in ‘The Keystone State’ could well surpass $2 billion this year. However, the expert purportedly moreover divulged that this forecast has been extrapolated from data supplied by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and could well change should the wider economy go into recession.
A statement from Gamrat reportedly read…
“Things seem to be moving along. The economy’s not improving but it’s not degrading either. One thing to consider is that it’s the discretionary money that people are using to gamble with. As long as they have discretionary money, they’ll keep gambling.”
Rising receipts:
Gamrat reportedly furthermore pointed to the November of 2018 launch of online and retail sportsbetting as a further reason as to why Pennsylvania’s overall gaming market is undergoing tremendous growth. The specialist purportedly disclosed that these activities had chalked up monthly revenues of around $4 million in 2019 while the figure for the most recent April hit approximately $49 million.
Reportedly read the statement from Gamrat…
“When I look at total revenues from prior to the pandemic, you hit a plateau. From 2011 to 2019, which was primarily slots and gaming tables only, it was about $3 billion a year in total revenues. So, if we hit $5 billion in total revenues from all forms of gaming, my guess is it’ll probably be consistent for the next few handful of years unless there’s another expansion.”
Neighboring nuisance:
Finally, Gamrat reportedly went on to assert that the legalization of casino gambling in adjacent states could have had an adverse effect in Pennsylvania by raising competition and driving down visitation from aficionados in neighboring states such as Ohio and New Jersey. The professional purportedly pronounced that the vast majority of modern-day gaming revenues come from Pennsylvanians with the industry’s performance potentially not as beneficial to the wider economy as other sectors.
Gamrat’s statement reportedly read…
“The gaming industry does not have the spin-off effects as does a factory or an office building. Those casinos are designed for you to go there as a destination and you’re going there to spend your money in the casino without looking for restaurants around the casino.”