Penn Entertainment has announced a revenue of $1.4 billion for the first quarter of 2026, coupled with an adjusted EBITDAR of $471.4 million, driven by increased casino visits and higher spending per visit, marking its best retail growth in three years.
CEO Jay Snowden emphasized that the company started the year with significant momentum in both physical and digital sectors, bolstered by ongoing investments and operational enhancements.
“The uptick in visitation and increased expenditure across the board resulted in a year-over-year theoretical revenue growth in all rated segments, marking our largest quarterly uptick in three years,” remarked Snowden.
He further added, “We are delighted to share another robust quarter. Adjusted EBITDAR for the retail segment has seen a year-over-year increase, and these stable trends are projected to continue into April.”
Enhancements and extensions at numerous properties significantly fortified Penn’s retail segment, which includes advancements at the M Resort in Nevada, Ameristar Black Hawk in Colorado, Hollywood Columbus in Ohio, and Hollywood Casino Aurora in Illinois.
M Resort in Henderson
Snowden highlighted these investments as crucial factors behind the company’s enhanced performance, along with consistent customer demand at regional locations.
“As I mentioned in our last earnings call, 2026 is set to be a year of strong execution for Penn,” Snowden stated. “We still have the remaining months to deliver, but I’m glad to report that we have made an impressive start. In the future, we will remain focused on enhancing our free cash flow while optimizing corporate overhead and maintaining discipline in our capital expenditures.”
Regional casinos continued their strong performance, with Snowden noting that most patrons reside within close proximity to the venues, which diminishes the impact of external cost pressures like fuel prices.
“The majority of our regional customers travel from within a 30-minute drive,” he explained. “It’s unlikely that fuel prices will influence their decisions on visiting the casino weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, as travel costs are minimal.”
Penn’s interactive segment produced $358.3 million in revenues during the quarter, although it experienced an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $10.8 million. During the earnings call, Snowden attributed this loss in part to theScore Bet’s impending launch in Alberta, Canada.
“Our interactive segment observed a significant improvement in Adjusted EBITDA year-over-year, indicating the first full quarter under our restructured digital strategy,” Snowden noted. “Revenue from iCasino surged approximately 15% year-over-year due to the sustained uptick of standalone iCasino, which achieved record quarterly revenue in the first quarter and record monthly revenue in March.”
During the conference call, Snowden provided additional insight into the upcoming Alberta launch, for which Penn has gained approval from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) to operate its mobile sports betting and iCasino platform, theScore Bet.
“We feel optimistic about our setup there,” Snowden expressed. “We have thoroughly analyzed what strategies succeeded during our Ontario launch and identified areas for improvement. We anticipate achieving market share results in Alberta comparable to our success in Ontario, where we continue to gain momentum.”
Chief Technology Officer Aaron LaBerge reported strong growth in the standalone iCasino operations in the United States, even as online sports betting encounters challenges.
“It is crucial to note that our standalone casino growth is significant,” LaBerge remarked. “We are achieving record revenues in this sector. Although we are seeing some softness in online sports betting, we are offsetting that with focused spending and reinvestment in key areas.”
LaBerge mentioned that Penn has revised its marketing strategy, focusing spending on states that allow both iCasino and sports betting.
“We are prioritizing hybrid states with both iCasino and sports betting,” he added. “Moreover, our standalone segment is showing tremendous momentum, and we are increasing our investments there. Canada is also beginning to pick up, prompting increased expenditures in that region.”