Lehigh Valley Live – Pennsylvania cut heavily into New Jersey’s gambling revenues with the opening of its own casinos over the last 7 1/2 years. In November, New Jersey struck back with the introduction of online gambling. Pennsylvania casinos in the eastern part of the state — including Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem — get a significant portion of their business from New Jersey residents.
But have the four months of online gambling in New Jersey cut into Pennsylvania’s profits? Officials say it’s too early to tell. Pennsylvania gaming revenues have been largely on the decline since New Jersey’s online gambling debuted Nov. 21. But New Jersey’s online gambling is likely far from the only reason, said Richard McGarvey, a spokesman with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
This December, January and February were far snowier than the year before. And western Pennsylvania casinos are now facing competition from casinos in Ohio, McGarvey said. While casino revenues have been down, they haven’t been down much, he said. Sands’ slots revenues have been on the decline since online gambling debuted in New Jersey but its table games take has continued to grow. Sands spokeswoman Julia Corwin declined comment on the impact of New Jersey’s online gambling.
“From our part of view, we don’t know — it’s too early to tell if it’s having any impact,” McGarvey said. “There’s just no real good information on it, on who are the players, if they’re the kind of people who go to casinos or not.”
