Pennsylvania is a perfect showpiece for what legalised and regulated online gambling can do to a state’s resources. It should inspire other USA states to follow suit quickly. The Pennsylvania treasury has received more than $385 million from gambling in the first year since a law was passed to expand gambling in the American state, making the tally more than $1 million a day. This was more than what the legislators had budgeted for. The revenues included upfront licensing fees for casinos, online casinos and sportsbooks; mini-casino auction profits; and tax revenue from lottery expansion and daily fantasy sports. This press release has been put out by PlayPennsylvania.com. Jessica Welman, analyst for state operated online gambling site, pointed out that the most notable aspect was that the revenue has been generated almost completely from fees, rather than by taxing gamblers. This shows that the gaming operators are showing considerable interest in Pennsylvania's enormous market.

The break up and cross tabulation of the revenues was also provided by PlayPennsylvania.com. A detailed accounting of the revenue has been reported at the web site. The salient features are given below. The biggest share of the revenues of $128 million came from mini-casino auction profits. This was followed by $94 million from interactive gaming petitions and $78 million from casino licensing. Sports betting petitions contributed $60 million. $1.4 million was collected through daily fantasy sports tax revenue. Based on return-to-player rates of the games, PlayPennsylvania.com also estimated that the USA state has collected more than $23 million in revenue from online lotto games, keno and virtual sports in October.

Welman pointed out that the objective of the gambling expansion was to fill short-term gaps in Pennsylvania’s state budget. Based on this criterion, the expansion has been a success so far. But she cautioned that the long-term picture is less certain for now. More casinos and sportsbooks will have to open before a clear picture emerges of whether Pennsylvania's relatively steep tax rates and license fees will nevertheless attract gaming operators. The interest is alive. In November, Hollywood Casino at Penn National launched out a sportsbook. More openings are expected in December and January.

The Pennsylvania casino industry has been slowing down. The injection of retail sports betting should help rejuvenate it said Dustin Gouker, a lead sports betting analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. Referring to the Garden State of New Jersey, he said that the more significant revenue generator will come from online sports betting.