Currently, Pennsylvania offers a wide range of gambling activities. Such include casino gambling where visitors can enjoy slots and table games, as well as bingo, lottery and sports betting. Additionally, Pennsylvania offers skill games, that are increasingly expanding their presence to locations such as gas stations, convenience stores and bars across the state.
According to a new report, competition in the state is fierce, which has resulted in a decrease in the number of retail slot machines. As announced by Play Pennsylvania, citing a report from the non-partisan consultancy that focuses on policy and regulation of the legalized gambling sector across the globe, Spectrum Gaming Group, slot machines in Pennsylvania have decreased by nearly 1,000 over the last few years.
Last month, the gambling regulator in the state, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), agreed Mohegan Pennsylvania to reduce the number of its slots by 120. Earlier this year, Lady Luck Nemacolin and Hollywood Casino Morgantown removed 100 and 30 slots respectively. In a similar trend, Harrah’s Philadelphia removed 150 slots earlier this year while in 2021, it removed another 563 slot machines.
This makes the total slots removed since 2021 approximately 1,000 machines. Yet, despite the decreasing number of slots, the PGCB recently released its 2022-2023 Annual Report, revealing insights regarding the gambling sector in the state that point to sustainable and responsible growth. The state’s diverse gambling sector, offering online betting, fantasy sports, online gambling platforms and 17 land-based venues, reported revenue surpassing $5 billion. In fact, this result surpassed the revenue reported in neighboring New Jersey.
Retail Slots Compete with iGaming, Skill Games
Despite the strong performance of the legal gambling sector, the reduction of slots is a fact that is not hidden. According to Spectrum, there are multiple factors that impact retail slots in Pennsylvania. Pushed by the pandemic, many gamblers started using online gambling platforms and this trend resided even with the pandemic nearly gone.
Additionally, Spectrum suggests that the growth of the iGaming sector further impacted retail slots, considering that the equivalent of 13,000 slot machines were added online. At the same time, Spectrum acknowledged the strong competition in Pennsylvania and the growing competition from neighboring states.
Another important factor that is likely to contribute toward the decrease in the number of slots in the state is the growing number of skill games. While lawmakers are still in the process of debating the future of such games, by now, they have flooded Pennsylvania and can be found in many businesses.