Pennsylvania Online Casino Revenues Jump to $85M in July
Isaac Newton famously said everything that goes up must come down. He was referring to the laws of gravity and he was correct. However, Newton certainly didn’t have PA online casinos in mind at the time.
That’s because online gambling businesses in the Keystone State have been growing sporadically since the pandemic started. And they’re showing no signs of cooling down. In fact, PA online casinos recently set a new all-time high in revenues, generating $85M in July.
Why are PA Casino Sites Growing So Fast?
This is a question everyone has been asking since the coronavirus pandemic started. Here’s why.
COVID-19 Impacted Physical Casinos
Online casinos have been growing rapidly because brick and mortar casinos are reeling from the effects of the pandemic.
In April last year, COVID-19 forced Gov. Tom Wolf’s government to suspend all brick-and-mortar casinos from operating. This ban was active for roughly six months. During this time, PA gamblers didn’t stop playing their favorite casino games.
Instead, they looked for alternative ways to play slots, blackjack and poker. Online gaming was an ideal option. Unlike many states, Pennsylvania permits online casinos. New Jersey, West Virginia and Delaware are the three other states with fully-fledged casino sites.
This expert guide can help you find the best Pennsylvania online casinos. It also explains how to find an ideal casino site. What’s more, it provides more details about online gambling laws in PA, from taxes to the legal gambling age.
A Variety of Casinos
Unlike Delaware and West Virginia, Pennsylvania is home to more than a dozen casino sites. These operators provide all forms of casino games, from slots and video poker to roulette and blackjack.
As a result, PA gamblers have a decent range of options. They’re not limited to one or two casinos. And there’s no gambling games they can’t play. Of course, some casinos perform better than others.
In July, Hollywood Casino led PA online casinos with an income of $32.1 million. Rivers Casino came in second at $25.8 million while Valley Forge ranked third with an income of $14.2 million.
In case you’re wondering, most online casinos in Pennsylvania are operated by brick-and-mortar casinos. This also applies to mobile betting with the exception of DraftKings and FanDuel.
Convenience
When you think about it, the primary reason people choose online casinos over their land-based counterparts is convenience. Let’s say you live in Scranton. You feel an urge to play slots.
It’s much easier to join an online casino than to drive to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh to find a casino. In these pandemic times, it’s safer too. You’ll avoid interacting with the public or touching infected surfaces.
Then there’s the time factor. Not everyone wants to gamble the entire night. And even if you might be in the mood to have fun at casinos, you can’t afford to visit brick and mortar casinos regularly. But guess what? You could log into your casino account daily and play a few rounds of poker or baccarat.
Increased Security
When Pennsylvania legalized online casinos in 2017, a lot of people were hesitant to join these platforms. They were afraid they would lose their money or data privacy. Over the years, PA casinos have given players every reason to trust them.
First, all casinos in the Keystone state have a license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). This license serves two purposes. It provides proof a website is safe. Second, it shows you can legally gamble on the platform.
Licensing aside, most casino sites in PA have advanced security measures. They have secure HTTPS websites. And they support password protection. Some of them also feature firewalls and anti-DDoS tools to further protect their customers.
A Range of High-Paying Casino Games
Before online casinos got popular in PA, most people thought online games were inferior to Las Vegas slots and blackjack games. The truth is out. Online games come in higher quality and have better payout rates than their Vegas counterparts.
Think about it. Las Vegas and Atlantic Casinos have hundreds of employees and thousands of dollars in bills to pay. This money comes from games, and they can’t afford to be too generous to gamblers when their survival is at stake.
By comparison, online casinos have fewer bills to pay. They don’t need large buildings to store their slots and table games. And they have fewer employees in their payrolls. As a result, they can afford to invest more money in the quality of their games.
With that in mind, online casino games aren’t created equal. The best slot machines—Mega Joker, Jackpot 6000 and Ugga Bugga might feature 98% payout rates. But some games have lower payouts. Always research around to find the best games.
Bonuses for All at the Casino
At PA’s brick and mortar casinos, you ought to be a high roller to receive the VIP treatment. You need to spend hundreds of dollars per hour. You might need to dress expensively and tip generously to get the attention of dealers.
On the Internet, no one cares how you dress. You can tip live casino dealers or keep all your profits. Regardless, you’ll probably qualify for a bonus. The best part: you can earn a reward even when you’re not a high roller.
To be clear, casino bonuses come in many types. The most popular reward is a welcome bonus. Most people qualify for this bonus. The only requirement is to register an account and to make a deposit—you can earn a 100% matched bonus.
After you’ve become a paying customer, you now qualify for loyalty bonuses. They might come in the form of reload bonuses. Or they could be special rewards for high rollers.
Summary
Pennsylvania online casinos smashed the state’s monthly revenue in July after a small dip in June. And no one should be surprised. Gambling sites have been skyrocketing since the pandemic hit.
At the start of COVID-19, most people were looking for an escape place. Over time, players have realized online casinos are just as convenient if not better than brick and mortar casinos.
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