Online casino gambling set a monthly revenue record in February with the six states that offer it combining for over $619 million, eclipsing the previous record of $590.4 million set in December 2023.
High Rollers
New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia were the only six states in the nation offering internet casino gambling in February. Still, on March 5th they were joined by Rhode Island. Therefore, the $619.1 million in revenue that those iGaming sites generated in February did not include the Ocean State, and it took only 29 days to set the new revenue record.
It was the third time in the last four months that a revenue record was set and it will likely continue when March’s numbers are released with the inclusion of Rhode Island added to the mix.
All six states reported year-over-year increases with Michigan setting a state record by generating $188 million in February, while Pennsylvania posted $184.9 million in proceeds. New Jersey also crossed the $180 million threshold with $182.3 million in profit, which was less than $1 million shy of the Garden State record set the previous month.
After write-offs and promotional credits, the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) was $593.2 million on the $619.1 million in gross revenue. The states tax the AGR at whatever rates each one has legislated but the combined taxes collected by all six states in February was $123.5 million.
Switching Vendors
Delaware has traditionally been a small player in the domestic iGaming landscape but the Diamond State switched online casino providers from 888 Casino to BetRivers at the beginning of January and the change has been highly beneficial.
For the second consecutive month, Delaware set a state iGaming revenue record with $4.3 million in profit. We should also note that the handle for the first two months with BetRivers at the helm took in $220.5 million in wagers, which is almost half of the $446.6 million that 888 Casino produced in 12 months last year.
Delaware’s tax coffers are also swelling because of the switch in iGaming vendors as the state has now collected $5.8 million in taxes in January and February combined versus the $9.6 million collected in all of last year.
Count Maryland Out
Many industry insiders believed Maryland would be one of the next states after Rhode Island to go live with online casino gambling. Still, despite the House having passed its iGaming bill, dubbed HB 1319, by a 92-43 vote, the Senate was not nearly as moved and the bill was not included in the Senate’s budget proposals, signaling its demise at least for this year.
Its legislative opponents cited a study by Morgan State University’s Center for Data Analytics and Sports Gaming Research that concluded online casino gambling would cannibalize land-based casinos’ revenue, which would result in job losses.
However, those findings contradict many other studies that have concluded quite the opposite as the sponsor of the bill, Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary, pointed out.
“We had six reports. Only one said that there would be cannibalization. Due to concerns about job loss and possible cannibalization, off the top, the House decided to create a $10 million fund. For anybody who works at a brick and mortar, if you are displaced by your job, you can go and get your salary on top of getting unemployment from the state,” said Atterbeary.
