PENN Entertainment welcomed the outcome of the November 3 midterm elections, with CEO Jay Snowden saying the results could improve prospects for gaming expansion in several states.
Among the markets drawing renewed attention is Texas, where changes in political leadership could reopen discussions around broader gambling legislation. For PENN, any shift in policy would build on an existing operating footprint rather than require an entry into the state from scratch.
The company already operates Sam Houston Race Park and Retama Park near San Antonio, giving it an established presence through horse racing if lawmakers revisit broader gaming proposals in Texas.
“Tuesday night was a good day and a good night for the sector in in a lot of ways,” Snowden said during Thursday’s earnings call. “It was certainly a really good day and night for Penn specifically.”
His comments came as PENN reported third-quarter revenue of $1.84 billion, up from $1.72 billion a year earlier. Net income reached $32.6 million, reversing an $865.1 million loss in Q3 2025, when results included $825 million in Interactive impairment charges.
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased from $194.9 million to $284 million.
Texas Moves Up PENN’s Agenda
Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas, while Vikki Goodwin defeated Dan Patrick in the lieutenant governor race. Patrick had been a prominent opponent of gambling expansion.
Texas currently allows limited gambling, including pari-mutuel racing and tribal casinos. Broader expansion would require a constitutional amendment, legislative approval and a statewide vote.
Snowden said PENN’s existing investments give it a strong base for any future debate.
“We do not talk about it every call because it just hasn’t been a topic of conversation — not even hot, it hasn’t even really been warm for a variety of reasons — but we’ve been making investments in the state of Texas for decades,” Snowden said. “We have been operating in the gaming space through horse racing in Texas for a long time.
“We have got two great assets there and we are ready to play offense.”
He added that PENN expects to spend more time in Texas and highlighted the company’s relationships within the state.
“We also positioned well in that we have great relationships with the movers and shakers in Texas,” Snowden added. “We don’t need to get into names and entities, but we have very strong aligned relationships there. We have a great lobbying team, one of the best we have across the country.
“We will be spending even more time than we typically do in the state of Texas. We will be ready for whatever comes out of Texas, and we think we are positioned as well, if not better, than really anybody in the sector if something does happen.”
PENN also has what Snowden described as a strong relationship with the Chickasaw Nation, which owns the third Class I thoroughbred racetrack in Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Election Results Affect Other Gaming Markets
Snowden also pointed to possible changes elsewhere following the midterms.
He said retail gaming expansion in Georgia “could happen” after Democrats gained political ground there. In Ohio, incoming Gov. Amy Acton had expressed greater openness to online casino legislation during the campaign.
“Governor Acton, who is now going to be in office at the start of the year, was definitely more open to iGaming expansion,” Snowden said. “You still have a Senate and a House there that are Republican, and it is always hard to map how those things will play out. We look forward to spending time with the new governor and her team and talking about the benefits, if done right, of iGaming legislation in a state like Ohio.”
Snowden also welcomed election defeats for lawmakers who supported skill-based gaming, particularly in Pennsylvania and Missouri, where PENN operates casinos.
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court required skill games to shut down by October 14. Snowden said PENN then recorded its strongest year-on-year gaming revenue growth in the state during 2026, with much of the improvement occurring in the second half of October.
“I don’t know if that continues into future months. I don’t know how long it lasts,” Snowden says, as reported by CDC Gaming. “We’ll see what happens legislatively, but I do know that (Election Day) was a very good day overall for the industry and certainly for Penn.”
He also described the rejection of casino referendums in three northeast Indiana counties as a positive result for PENN as an incumbent operator.
Q3 Results Improve Across Retail and Interactive
PENN’s retail segment generated about $1.5 billion in third-quarter revenue. Segment Adjusted EBITDAR reached $501.8 million, with a margin of 33.7%.
Its Interactive division reported $348.4 million in revenue, including a $191.4 million tax gross-up. The segment’s Adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to $18.3 million from $76.6 million a year earlier.
Management attributed the digital improvement partly to Hollywood Casino’s US online operations and growth in Canada. PENN launched Hollywood Casino and theScore Bet in Alberta in July.
The company raised its full-year retail guidance to $5.89 billion in revenue and $1.973 billion in Adjusted EBITDAR. It expects a fourth-quarter Interactive Adjusted EBITDA loss of $18.7 million, bringing the segment’s projected full-year loss to $20 million, including a $20 million investment in Alberta.
PENN ended September with $2 billion in total liquidity, including $1 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Traditional net debt stood at $1.8 billion.
The combination of stronger quarterly results and political changes has encouraged management to revisit expansion opportunities, with Texas emerging as the most prominent market under consideration.