Pennsylvania Reports August Sports Betting Numbers: $348.5M in Overall Handle
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On Monday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board released figures detailing the financial returns of the gambling industry for August. It announced Pennsylvania’s sports betting handle for August was $348.5 million, up about 14.5% from July’s handle of $304.4 million. However, the handle for August 2021 was 4.5% lower than the $365 million handle in August 2020. In August, total Pennsylvania gaming revenue was $408.1 million, up 31% from August 2020. The state also snapped a four-month streak of decline in the overall betting handle.
Online Betting the Much Preferred Method
Bettors in Pennsylvania have shown a clear preference for online betting options, much like the rest of the country. Online sports betting saw a handle of $318.1 million, 91.3% of August’s total; that increased 15.5% from July’s $275.4 million, which made up 90.3% of the overall handle. The mobile handle was down 1.1% from the $321.6 million in August 2020, but it should increase in the coming months with the NFL season now underway.
Revenue Decrease
While the overall sports betting handle increased in August, revenue decreased. August saw $25.3 million in sports betting revenue with a hold of 7.3%. In July, Pennsylvania had $27.5 million in sports betting revenue off a hold rate of 9%. In August, Pennsylvania handed out $7.3 million in promotional credits, so the actual taxable revenue was $18 million, a 9.3% drop from $19.9 million in July. The state tax due in August was $6.1 million.
FanDuel Leads the Way
FanDuel Sportsbook is Pennsylvania’s most popular sports betting platform in partnership with the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. FanDuel took $137.4 million in online and in-person bets, representing about 39.4% of the overall market and over 69% more than the next-closest competitor, DraftKings. DraftKings Sportsbook, in partnership with The Meadows, saw a handle of $81.3 million but did have $8.2 million in revenue, which was about 38% more than FanDuel’s revenue.
The next-most successful sportsbooks in Pennsylvania didn’t come close to matching the successes of FanDuel and DraftKings. BetMGM Sportsbook generated a handle of $28.4 million and revenue of $2.5 million in partnership with Hollywood Casino Morgantown. Barstool Sportsbook generated a handle of $27.9 million and revenue of $2.2 million in collaboration with Hollywood Penn National. BetRivers and SugarHouse, the two skins for Rush Street Interactive, combined for $32.8 million in total handle and just under $2 million in revenue.
Fantasy Sports Revenue
In addition to the increase in sports betting handle, Daily Fantasy Sports also had a successful month of August. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported DFS revenue of $1.6 million, a slight increase from $1.5 million in July. FanDuel led the way with $854,143 of that handle (about 53%) while DraftKings trailed close behind with $749,182 in handle (about 46%); no other operators come close to those two. The start of the football season will bring more success for DFS platforms and traditional sports betting as the NFL is the most popular sport on both gaming platforms.
NFL Will Increase These Numbers
The impact that the beginning of football season will have on sports betting across the country cannot be overstated, which is also valid for Pennsylvania. In each of the past three years that sports betting has been legal in Pennsylvania, the months during which the football season took place consistently led to a higher sports betting handle. The record-high for Pennsylvania came in January 2021 with a handle of just over $615 million. The NFL partners with several platforms, and this season represents a catalyst for further growth in the nationwide sports betting market.
