Bolstered by new online sportsbooks and a busy sports month, Pennsylvania’s sports betting handle jumped 31.2% to $316.5 mm in November.
Figures posted Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board showed that online wagers represented 84.3% of the betting volume, climbing more than a third from the month before to reach $266.7 mm.
DraftKings launched online in the state on Nov. 4 and Unibet on Nov. 12, becoming the sixth and seventh mobile sites in Pennsylvania, but FanDuel remained the king of sports betting. The $149.7 mm in bets taken by the FanDuel site affiliated with the Valley Forge Casino Resort represented 56.1% of all online wagers, down only slightly from the 57.3% when it had less competition in October.
DraftKings and Unibet just getting started
In its nearly four weeks of operation, DraftKings, partnering with the Meadows Racetrack & Casino, had a handle of $16.2 mm. In less than half a month, Unibet took $1.9 mm in wagers.
The newcomers trailed the online handles of Rivers Philadelphia ($32.4 mm), Rivers Pittsburgh ($30.6 mm) and Parx ($22.4 mm), all of which posted month-to-month gains in volume, like every online and all but one retail sportsbook in the state. (Valley Forge took a dip, unlike its online partner.)
While FOX Bet, tied to Mount Airy Casino Resort, trails other online sites, it had a big 38.6% jump over October betting to a handle of $13.5 mm.
Though betting volume was up everywhere, the same could not be said for revenue.
Overall revenue in the state was reported as $20.6 mm, for a 6.5% hold by the sportsbooks. Promotional credits ate up nearly $5.9 mm of that, however, so that the gross taxable revenue was a little lower than in either September or October.
The state’s $5.3 mm share on tax revenue from sports betting thus also amounted to a little less than the prior two months. Total tax revenue has reached nearly $20 mm in the first five months of the fiscal year.
BetAmerica launches as eighth online site
Pennsylvania sports betting is in such a young, growing stage that every month has brought a new record high in handle, and that could happen again in December. The Churchill Downs BetAmerica online site, tied to Presque Isle Downs & Casino, began a three-day test period Monday afternoon under state monitoring and is likely to be permanent as of Thursday.
Pennsylvania’s percentage growth in overall sports betting was twice as high in November as was the case in New Jersey, a more mature market that continues to have higher volume. The neighboring state’s handle rose 15.3% in November to a new high of $562.7 mm from 17 mobile sites and 10 retail locations.
While online betting gets the bulk of attention due to its heavier volume, retail sportsbooks continue to do well across Pennsylvania, with a handle that rose 16.9% in November to $49.7 mm.
Three casinos were bunched close together in top retail handle: Rivers Pittsburgh and Rivers Philadelphia with $8.9 mm each and Parx with $8.1 mm.
They were followed by Hollywood ($3.8 mm), Presque Isle ($3.7 mm), South Philadelphia OTB ($3.6 mm), Valley Forge ($3.2 mm), Harrah’s ($3 mm), Mohegan Sun ($2.5 mm), Meadows ($1.8 mm), Oaks OTB ($1.4 mm), and Mount Airy ($0.9 million).
