Amidst the recent COVID-19 pandemic, most of the businesses have suffered heavy losses. Except for one business that didn’t bow down to the global pandemic – casinos. Strange as it might sound, casinos are making big money even with a crisis of international level. Among all the casinos, the ones in Pennsylvania are raking in dollars.
Everything’s back to business with the Pennsylvania casinos and there’s no apparent loss of revenue. But, there’s a catch. The booming casino business has shifted from brick-and-mortal establishments to online casinos. As the USA is still under lockdown, most gamblers are resorting to online casino games.
Pennsylvania casinos make big revenue thanks to online gambling
Reportedly, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board or PGCB has raked in revenue of $283 million for the month of July. Forget about going back to pre-pandemic levels, the figure has even defeated last year’s revenues. Last year, around July, the PGCB collected nearly $281 million from various casinos across Pennsylvania.
Many retail casinos in the USA reopened their doors only in July. They had been shut down amid coronavirus fears and the business was down for some months. With the help of online gaming facilities, however, the industry continued the flourish even during the lockdown.
The previous setbacks
PA casinos were shut down for an approximate period of three months. During those three months, the Pennsylvania government lost nearly $424 million. The loss was through tax revenues that the government used to collect while casinos were open. Apart from the government, casino owners also reflected the same image. Pennsylvania casino owners lost around $968.8 million after the shutdown.
The Keystone state collects the highest amount of tax revenues from the gambling industry, even more than famous gambling cities such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Pennsylvania tax authorities generated revenue of $1.2 billion only from the slot machines. The good fortune didn’t last long, though. Just when business was at its booming height, the pandemic happened. Soon, all the casinos were locked and vacated.
The silver lining for the gambling industry
Online casinos came as a savior for the retail casinos. The shift from brick-and-mortar shops to online gambling was due since many years. As the COVID-19 situation worsened all across the USA, people started looking for alternatives. As with all other things, Pennsylvania didn’t disappoint the gamblers.
Pa online casino took place of the real-world casinos in many ways. It provided players with both comfort and reliability. As a result, regular gamblers couldn’t resist gambling online. Many online gambling providers are real-world casino owners. The online version is an extension of the previous shut-down state. Parx casino got $59,9 million in revenue after choosing to go online. Similarly, Rivers Casino offered games on the online platform and took its business back to normal.
The final point:
As much as the current situation gives us hope that the casino business will be back to normal, it is a relief to know that there are alternatives for those who like to gamble. With so many games of chance available online, gamblers feel appreciated and not forgotten. Online gambling is the safest way to maintain social distancing from others after all.