Pennsylvania’s Record-High $85 Million in November Sports Betting Revenue
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November has been another historical sports betting month across the United States, and Pennsylvania is the latest state to join the party with its reported numbers for the month. Pennsylvania reported its sports betting handle came in at $761.5 million, down slightly from October’s record of $776.3 million. However, the handle was up just under 55% year-over-year, and per-day volume actually increased from $25 million in October to $25.4 million in November.
Historic Month of Revenue
While the sports betting handle decreased slightly from October to November, the past month was historic in terms of revenue. Pennsylvania reported $84.9 million in sports betting revenue, shattering the previous high of $49.3 million in January 2021. Revenue was up 101% month-over-month from October on the strength of an 11.7% hold rate, up from 5.4% in October. The 11.7% hold rate was the highest reported in Pennsylvania since its legal sports betting market launched and is a sizable rate compared to the national average of around 7%.
Overall, operators gave out $21.3 million in promos, the most ever in a month, which didn’t seem to minimize the impressive revenue totaled. Operators can deduct those promos from their tax payments, but they still owed just under $23 million in total taxes to state and local governments at a hefty 36% rate. Pennsylvania currently has one of the highest tax rates for sports betting in the country, but it will soon be eclipsed by New York‘s 50% tax rate.
Online Dominates, Retail Still Successful
Of the total handle reported in November, $704 million came from online operators, representing 92% of the total reported. However, retail sports betting generated $57.5 million in total bets placed and $8.6 million in revenue, up over 72% from October. While online sports betting is clearly the preferred method, Pennsylvania’s casinos had a successful month with a 14.9% hold rate on bets placed.
Pennsylvania’s total handle put them in second place among states that have reported November numbers behind only New Jersey. However, we are still waiting on Nevada and Illinois to report their November numbers, and those two states stand to potentially come in ahead of Pennsylvania. New Jersey reported $1.26 billion in its November sports betting handle, and it has recently taken the mantle from Nevada as the top sports betting market in the country.
Leading Sportsbooks in Pennsylvania
FanDuel continues to be the leading sportsbook in Pennsylvania, with a total handle of $241.9 million in November, representing 31.8% of the total market. FanDuel reported $37.4 million in revenue on an impressive 15.5% hold rate, giving it a 44% share of the state’s total revenue. DraftKings came in just behind FanDuel with $217 million in its total handle, a 28.5% market share. However, on just a 7% hold rate, DraftKings reported just $16 million in revenue.
Barstool Sportsbook ($8.3 million), BetMGM ($5.7 million), BetRivers ($4.1 million), and Parx ($3.7 million) rounded out the top sportsbooks in the state. Barstool had the second-best hold rate in the state at 11.1%, behind only FanDuel’s 15.5%, while BetMGM spent the most money on bonuses and promos, doling out 95% of its gross gaming revenue. While FanDuel and DraftKings are head and shoulders above the rest of the pack, there’s plenty of room in the growing Pennsylvania market for other sportsbooks to succeed.
