Gambling in the USA

PlayPennsylvania.com: Sportsbooks generate $350 million in bets as momentum grows

Published

5 years ago

February 20, 2020

Keystone State’s momentum continues with record handle and revenue as more online casinos launch, according to PlayPennsylvania.com

A record-setting January pushed Pennsylvania’s online and retail sportsbooks past $100 million in lifetime revenue. But even with a strong start to the New Year, Pennsylvania still has much ground to gain to catch New Jersey and Nevada as the largest sports betting markets in the country, according to PlayPennsylvania.com.

“Pennsylvania’s momentum is growing, and January shows that the state’s sportsbooks can sustain it even as the NFL season winds down,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “Pennsylvania will likely remain the nation’s No. 3 market for the foreseeable future. But it is becoming clearer that it will one day challenge Nevada and New Jersey as the largest legal sports betting market in the U.S.”

Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks accepted a record $348.4 million in wagers in January, breaking the $342.6 million record set in December up dramatically from $32 million in January 2019, according to official data released Wednesday. $308.6 million, or 88.6%, of the state’s January handle came online.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

January’s bets produced a record $31.6 million in gross revenue — up from $17.5 million in December. That produced $7.78 million in state taxes. With January’s gains, Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks have now generated $116.4 million in gross revenue since launching in November 2018.

Pennsylvania is still well behind New Jersey, which generated a handle of $540.1 million in January, and Nevada, which is expected to post a January handle of around $500 million. Pennsylvania’s $30.7 million handle for February’s Super Bowl was third behind Nevada ($154.7 million) and New Jersey ($54.2 million), another sign of the Keystone State’s current place in the sports betting pecking order.

“The opportunities for growth are abundant for Pennsylvania,” Gouker said. “Its population base is a huge advantage. Infrastructure issues have slowed the state’s development. But the industry is unquestionably getting past its growing pains.”

The gap between the top two online sportsbooks appears to be narrowing. FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino remains the market leader with $153.1 million January bets, down from $154.5 million in December. That yielded $8.1 million in taxable revenue, up from $7 million. But DraftKings at The Meadows grew to $58.7 million in January from $35.9 million in December. That produced $2.8 million in taxable revenue, up from $732,883.

DraftKings and FanDuel were followed by:

Rivers Philadelphia ($28.4 million in handle, down from $30.6 million in December; $2.2 million taxable revenue, up from $1.1 million)
Rivers Pittsburgh ($25.8 million in handle, down from $28.3 million in; $1.7 million revenue, up from $1.3 million)
Parx Casino ($21.3 million handle, down from $25.5 million; $2 million revenue, up from $779,529)
Fox Bet at Mount Airy ($15.4 million handle, down from $16.4 million; $1.3 million revenue, up from $312,658 in revenue)
Unibet at Mohegan Sun Pocono ($4.8 million handle, down from $6.1 million; $126,879 revenue, up from -$31,744)
Presque Isle Downs ($1.2 million handle, up from $129,556; $44,717 revenue, up from $28,700)

The online market could soon get a shakeup. Penn National Gaming announced that it has acquired a significant stake in Barstool Sports and with it, a recognizable brand for its online casino and sportsbook that will presumably launch later this year.

“DraftKings has been aggressively marketing itself in Pennsylvania, and it is making some headway in its attempt to catch up with FanDuel. But it still has a long way to go,” Gouker said. “Meanwhile, the expected launch later this year of the Barstool-branded online casino and sportsbook will add intrigue to a market that has been predictably controlled by the two most recognizable brands in online sports betting.”

The retail market was led by Rivers Philadelphia’s $7.4 million handle, down from $7.7 million in December. That yielded $1.1 million in revenue, up from $590,177. Rivers Philadelphia was followed by:

Parx ($6.7 million handle, down from $7.5 million; $875,269 revenue, up from $572,416)
Rivers Pittsburgh ($6.7 million handle, down from $7.5 million; $791,877 revenue, up from $518,743)
South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbook ($3 million handle, down from $3.3 million; $501,515 revenue, up from $328,651)
Harrah’s Philadelphia ($3 million handle, even with December; $219,597 revenue, up from $123,799)
Valley Forge Casino ($2.9 million handle, down from $3.6 million; $391,012 revenue, up from $107,145)
Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course ($2.6 million handle, down from $3.2 million; $180,249 revenue, up from $112,277)
Presque Isle ($2.3 million handle, down from $3 million; $281,753 revenue, down from $217,870)
Mohegan ($1.9 million handle, down from $2.6 million; $137,702 revenue, down from $257,956)
Oaks Race and Sportsbook ($973,451 handle, down from $1.2 million; $97,394 revenue, down from $65,949)
Mount Airy ($732,813 handle, down from $814,931 handle; $81,793 revenue, up from $73,692 in revenue)

Online casinos continue growth

Online casino games and poker generated $14 million in January gross revenue, up from $10.6 million in December. That yielded $3.4 million in tax revenue for the state.

More importantly, the roster of online casinos grew to seven in January. FanDuel/Valley Forge Casino made a big splash with its debut on Jan. 24, generating $2.1 million during the remainder of the month. FanDuel was followed by the launch of BetAmerica less than a week later.

“The online casino market should get a real jolt from FanDuel’s entrance,” Gouker said. “Integrated within FanDuel’s market-leading sportsbook app, the FanDuel Casino is ideally positioned to leverage its success as a sportsbook into success as an online casino.”

Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – June 16-22

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2025

Niji Narayan

gaming-americas-weekly-roundup-–-june-16-22

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

PrizePicks announced it has been Certified by Great Place To Work for the first time — a prestigious recognition based on employee feedback about their experience working at the company. Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and leadership behaviours proven to drive business performance. According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified workplace. Team members at Certified companies are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work and are twice as likely to feel they are paid fairly and have equal opportunities for advancement.

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has issued cease-and-desist orders to five illegal online gambling operators—BoVegas Casino, BUSR, Cherry Gold Casino, Lucky Legends and Wager Attack Casino—after discovering they were targeting Michigan residents without proper licenses. These operators are violating Michigan’s Lawful Internet Gaming Act, the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act, and the Michigan Penal Code. The MGCB’s investigations found that these sites have been accepting wagers and deposits from Michigan residents on sports events, slots, blackjack and other casino games—all without the oversight and safeguards required by law. Players using these platforms face unreliable payouts, unfair gaming practices and have no legal recourse in case of disputes.

ZOOT, a sweepstakes gaming platform bringing video game sensibilities to iGaming entertainment, announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding led by CoinFund, one of the world’s first cryptonative investment firms, with participation from Griffin Gaming Partners to expand the current US-focused business to a global-facing, stablecoin-driven one. The investment further grows the opportunities for instant, borderless payments in digital entertainment as stablecoin adoption surges past $239 billion in circulation, with payment giants like Visa and PayPal racing to integrate crypto rails for faster, cheaper transactions. ZOOT is building an iGaming platform that pioneers a new approach to iGaming that combines the engagement of video games with the efficiency of blockchain-based payments.

Partnerships

Maverick Games has launched sports betting operations in Ontario, through a partnership with Delasport. Maverick Games will offer Ontarian players a premium sports betting experience, built on Delasport’s superior technology and known for its unique innovative features that players love including personalisation, recommendations, gamification, quick bets, player engagement features and more. Maverick Games is the second brand to launch on Delasport’s technology in Ontario, with another full turnkey brand set to go live soon. Delasport also recently unveiled its innovative sports betting jackpot network game, SuperPot.

International Game Technology PLC announced that it recently signed a new, three-year sports betting technology agreement with Boyd Gaming Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, IGT’s award-winning PlaySports platform will continue powering Boyd Gaming’s retail and mobile sports betting offering in Nevada through August 2028. The new agreement builds on IGT and Boyd Gaming’s long-standing sports betting technology partnership that started in 2018. In addition to using the IGT PlaySports platform, Boyd Gaming will continue to offer IGT’s PlaySports Kiosks at its 10 retail betting locations across Nevada.

The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – June 16-22 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Catawba Nation Chief Brian Harris

Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort Rising in Kings Mountain as First Year of Construction is Completed

Published

1 week ago

June 23, 2025

GamingAmericas.com

catawba-two-kings-casino-resort-rising-in-kings-mountain-as-first-year-of-construction-is-completed

Significant construction has been completed during the first year of work on the $1 billion Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort in Kings Mountain, N.C., a site off Interstate-85 only 35 miles from Charlotte and close to the South Carolina border.

Construction on all aspects of the project is in full swing, with the foundations for the casino complex and hotel completed several months ago, the casino complex at its full height and expanding horizontally, and steel continuing to rise for the 24-story, 385-room hotel. The hotel tower framing is now 10 stories high, with an additional floor being added nearly every week. At completion, the hotel will be connected to the casino complex.

The casino complex includes the introductory casino on the first level, three levels of covered parking, a back-of-house level and top level with the main casino floor and restaurants. The introductory casino, set to open in spring 2026, will include 1350 slot machines, 20 table games, a 40-seat restaurant, a bar, sports betting kiosks, and Lucky North Rewards desk.

The introductory casino will replace the current temporary (prelaunch) casino, which continues to grow in popularity as it nears its fourth anniversary on July 1.

The main casino complex is targeted to open in 2027. It will be about 2 million square feet and feature:

• 4300 slot machines

• 100 table games

• 11 dining outlets, including a steakhouse, Italian restaurant, marketplace with six venues, café, and grab-and-go outlet

• A players lounge

• 11 bars, including a center bar and sports bar

• A 2700-space parking garage built under the casino complex and 800 surface parking spaces

The project has created hundreds of construction jobs. Upon completion, the casino resort will employ an estimated 2200 regional residents and citizens of the Catawba Nation.

“This casino resort will be an economic game changer for Catawba citizens and a force to drive the economy of Cleveland County and the City of Kings Mountain. This project is a testament to our resilience, our commitment to self-sufficiency, and our determination to build a better future for ourselves and our future generations,” Catawba Nation Chief Brian Harris said.

Harris noted the temporary casino is contributing to many community and charitable organizations in the region, and that will only increase as the full casino resort opens.

The project is being led by the Catawba Nation Gaming Authority under Vice President Trent Troxel, with Yates-Metcon as the construction general contractor; Delaware North as the gaming management, development and hospitality consultant; and SOSHNY Design architects.

“Once again, I want to thank the Cleveland County, City of Kings Mountain, federal and state leaders who have supported the Catawba Nation’s efforts develop the casino resort in its ancestral lands in North Carolina,” Harris said.

Work has also been completed on two key infrastructure projects for development of the permanent casino resort that were funded by the Catawba Nation: doubling the size of the Dixon School Road Bridge over I-85 near the casino entrance and installing new sewer lines near the casino.

The post Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort Rising in Kings Mountain as First Year of Construction is Completed appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

Gambling in the USA

Xanada Investments Reveals Strategic Backing of Sweepium, Targeting the U.S. Sweepstakes Landscape

Published

2 weeks ago

June 19, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Xanada Investments, a leading ideological investment fund focused on the iGaming sector, has officially revealed its early-stage investment in Sweepium, a breakthrough B2B platform and game aggregator redefining how sweepstakes casino brands launch, operate, and scale in the U.S. market.

The decision to invest in Sweepium was driven by a clear alignment of vision: a bold team building real sweepstakes infrastructure for an underserved and fast-growing segment, while providing a serious competitive advantage to existing platforms.

Purpose-built for the complexities of the U.S. regulatory landscape, Sweepium delivers a fully integrated, turnkey platform that includes a bank-approved payment architecture, CRM, customer support, content management, game aggregation, and promotional tools. Its standout capability — its bank-approved payment system — the first of its kind in the U.S. sweepstakes sector — enabling operators to process transactions with institutional-grade compliance and reliability.

Over the past year, Xanada’s support extended far beyond capital. Acting as strategic advisors and active mentors, the fund worked closely with the Sweepium team to strengthen their operational and go-to-market strategy to accelerate brand onboarding and commercial traction.

Today, Sweepium is live with multiple operators, supports integrations with over 50 game providers, and enables new clients to launch in just 8–10 weeks from contract to first processed payment — a speed and standard unmatched in the space.

“From day one, Sweepium showed both clarity of vision and precision in execution,” said Vladimir Malakchi, CEO & Managing Partner at Xanada Investments. “Our decision to invest was driven not only by the unique positioning of the platform but by the team’s operational discipline and long-term thinking. Over the past year, we’ve worked closely with Sweepium to evolve their business infrastructure, guide strategic decisions, and help unlock market growth — and the results speak for themselves.”

Daniel Mitton, Founder & CEO of Sweepium, commented: “Partnering with Xanada Investments brought more than capital — it brought strategy, structure, and scale. Their team helped us align operations with long-term growth goals, navigate licensing, and open doors commercially. With Xanada’s support, we’ve accelerated our market readiness and laid the groundwork for sustainable expansion.”

As Sweepium enters its next phase of growth, the company is focused on expanding its partner base, deepening product capabilities, and continuing to lead in compliance-first innovation within the U.S. sweepstakes space.

About Xanada Investments

Xanada Investments is an ideological investment fund targeting PreSeed, Seed, and Series A funding rounds for innovative projects and leaders in the iGaming industry. With a focus on long-term success, Xanada is committed to providing not only capital but also strategic guidance and support to help businesses scale quickly and efficiently.

About Sweepium

Sweepium is a B2B platform and game aggregator enabling the launch of sweepstakes casino brands under a white-label model. The company supports over 80 game providers, offers full operational setup, and is the first provider of bank-approved white-label payments for sweepstakes in the U.S. market.

The post Xanada Investments Reveals Strategic Backing of Sweepium, Targeting the U.S. Sweepstakes Landscape appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.