Pennsylvania Breaks State Betting Handle Record for September

Pennsylvania joins the record-breaking party after seeing $462.8 million in bets for September. The Keystone state, along with New Jersey, Indiana, and others, have seen all-time highs in sports betting. A lot of it has to do with the sports calendar having a full month of MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL on the schedule.

According to the report released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the state saw $992.6 million wagered in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

The Keystone State has been one of the top sports betting states since its launch. Barstool Sportsbook also launched its mobile sports betting app in September, which has helped add to the Pennsylvania handle. “We think we’re largely growing the market, which is very important, as opposed to just stealing share,” said Penn National CEO, Jay Snowden. “That Barstool audience is very loyal. So we’ve been growing the market, from what we can see and what the data is telling us.”

Pennsylvania is still the only state that Barstool is operating in.

Pennsylvania By the Numbers

Pennsylvania saw a 26% increase in the state’s betting handle from August to September. Nearly a $100 million increase month over month. However, there was a decrease in revenue, going from $27.6 million in August to $18.3 million in September.

This is common during times of high customer sign-ups like the start of the NFL season, as sports betting companies give away a lot of free bonuses to attract people to their sites. Although overall betting went up, the hold percentage and revenue went down from deposited money being wagered thanks to the bonuses.

However, September was still an impressive month for the Keystone State. DraftKings and FanDuel both saw over $100 million wagered on their betting platforms, with FanDuel seeing $171.2 million wagers in September.

FanDuel, DraftKings, and Rush Street Interactive had the top three largest handles in September.

According to the state report, Barstool gained 7% of the Pennsylvania market share, although they only were operating in the state for 13 days. Space that out over a full month, and they will become one of Pennsylvania’s top competitors as their operations mature.

Nearly 90% of the total handle came from mobile betting. $414.1 million was wagered online as the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep people betting from home. Many states see online betting numbers near 90% thanks to the limited capacity put on casinos.

Will Pennsylvania Continue with this Trend into October?

The Keystone State had a great month in September, and a lot of it had to do with all four major sports and college football being played at once. As the calendar turns to October, only the NFL, MLB, and College Football are being played through the month.

The NBA Finals did wrap up this month, but it was only for the first 10 days.

Pennsylvania’s betting handle will most likely dip as the October calendar is relatively normal in any given year. However, the state could see an increase in betting revenue. Now that most new sports bettors signed-up before football season began, a lot of free plays and new users bonuses will be put aside for deposited money to be bet on games.

This will increase the hold for the state along with more taxable money in October. Even though the handle could fall, the state should increase taxable revenue that they can take advantage of.