Pennsylvania’s first online/mobile sportsbook launched on May 28, and in the roughly three days it was open it took $570k in wagers, according to figures made public by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Tuesday.
The Play SugarHouse online sportsbook opened on May 28 for limited hours, in what is known as a “soft launch.” The first legal online sports bets in PA history began after 4 p.m. on May 28. The betting hours were restricted up until the morning of Friday, May 31, which ended the soft launch period. Bettors can now wager 24/7.
The online/mobile betting kicked off during the midst of the NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals.
The overall PA handle was $35,934,215. Just about 1.5% of the state’s handle came online in May. In NJ, more than 82% of the handle is now online.
Additional PA sportsbooks are expected to launch in the coming weeks.
It’s worth noting that Play SugarHouse isn’t yet available on Apple (iOS) devices. Bettors can only access the book via pa.playsugarhouse.com and on Android devices.
Revenues
Play SugarHouse, which comes from Rush Street Gaming’s SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, took in $38,753 in revenue off the $573,163 online handle.
The book paid $13,176 (34%) in state taxes on that revenue, plus an additional $775 (2%) in the form of local taxes.
Statewide sportsbooks collected $2,861,852 in revenue off the $35.9 mm in handle, paying more than $1 mm in taxes.
Here’s a look at each sportsbook by handle in May, per the PGCB:
- Rivers Casino Pittsburgh: $7,924,510
- SugarHouse: $7,923,839
- Parx: $6,809,662
- Hollywood Casino: $3,816,054
- South Philly Race and Sportsbook: $2,745,803
- Valley Forge Casino: $2,739,475
- Harrah’s: $2,589,147
- Valley Forge Race and Sportsbook: $1,385,725
Rivers and SugarHouse are sister properties (both owned by Rush Street). Rush Street’s casinos accounted for $15,848,349 of the May handle, or 44%.
Rush Street announced last week that SugarHouse casino in Philadelphia will rebrand as Rivers Casino Philadelphia, and further has plans to sunset the entire SugarHouse brand.
Pennsylvania sports betting kicked off in November. Through May, the books took nearly $200 mm in wagers, collecting $19,673,294 in revenue.
