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Aug 16, 2019 9:40 am

Pennsylvania Online Sportsbooks Grab 65.7 Percent Of July Handle

By Brian Pempus

Results of the second full month that the state of Pennsylvania had online/mobile sports betting are in.

According to figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the legal sportsbooks licensed by the state took $59,331,959 in wagers in July, recording $5,079,633 in revenue.

Retail books accounted for $20,333,311 of the handle (34.3%). They generated $2,186,339 in gross taxable revenue. Online/mobile books, of which there are four, took $38,998,648 in bets (65.7%). Revenue from the internet was $665,798, after the books used $2,222,293 in promotional credits, per the PGCB.

Online/mobile accounted for 41.7% of the handle in June. The PA numbers follow figures from New Jersey this week that showed an all-time high 84.7% of the handle came via online/mobile.

Since PA’s first retail book opened in November, the state has seen $303,997,395 in legal sports bets.

Online/mobile books

Play SugarHouse, which launched on May 28, took the lion’s share of the online handle with $22,162,651. It was a whopping 83.7% of the casino’s total sports betting handle in July.

The casino’s sister property, Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, took $9,927,161 in online bets last month (69.2% of its total handle). The Play Rivers online sportsbook went live on June 25.

The Parx online sportsbook took $3,648,995 in wagers (50.6%). It launched on June 24, so, like Rivers, July was also its first full month in operation.

FanDuel Sportsbook, in partnership with Valley Forge Casino Resort, launched on July 22, taking $3,259,840 in online wagers during a limited number of days last month. It was an impressive start for one of the leading DFS and sports betting brands in the country.

Online books in PA are required to undergo an initial testing phase, which means limited hours during the first several days, before the platform is able to be used by bettors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Brick-and-mortar books

In addition to the three online/mobile sportsbooks, the state has eight brick-and-stick books. Here’s a look at how each fared last month in terms of handle:

  • Hollywood: $1,772,466
  • Rivers: $4,416,292
  • SugarHouse: $4,288,325
  • Parx: $3,550,511
  • South Philly Race and Sportsbook: $1,864,245
  • Harrah’s: $1,700,923
  • Valley Forge: $1,788,266
  • Oaks Race and Sportsbook: $789,502
Brian Pempus

Brian served as a senior reporter and online content manager for Card Player Magazine for nearly a decade before joining USBets in October 2018. He is currently focused on legal and regulated sports betting and online gaming. He's an avid jiu-jitsu practitioner in his free time.