Results of the first full month that the state of Pennsylvania had online/mobile sports wagering are in.
According to figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the legal sportsbooks licensed by the state took $46,334,244 in wagers in June, recording $3,126,380 in revenue.
Retail books accounted for $27,008,024 of the handle (58.3%). They generated $1,687,686 in gross taxable revenue. Online/mobile books, of which there are three, took $19,326,220 in bets (41.7%). Revenue from that trio was $1,438,694.
Since PA’s first retail book opened in November, the state has seen $244,665,436 in legal sports bets.
Look at the individual online books
Play SugarHouse, which launched on May 28, took the lion’s share of the handle with $18,170,689. The casino’s sister property, Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, took $848,520 in online bets last month. The Rivers online sportsbook went live on June 25, giving it only a handful of days’ worth of internet betting.
The Parx online sportsbook took $307,011 in wagers. It launched on June 24, so it only had about a week of online action during the month.
It appears that Rivers to some degree rode the coattails of its sister property, the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, while Parx had a tougher time without a sister casino launching online sports betting about a month prior to when it did. Play SugarHouse does appear to be enjoying a first-mover advantage.
Here’s a look at each book by average daily handle in June:
- Play SugarHouse: $605k
- Rivers: $141k
- Parx: $44k
It’s worth noting that online books in PA are required to undergo an initial testing phase, which means limited hours during the first several days, before the platform/mobile site 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: $2,410,357
- Rivers: $6,203,733
- SugarHouse: $5,160,836
- Parx: $5,175,829
- South Philly Race and Sportsbook: $2,462,294
- Harrah’s: $2,251,714
- Valley Forge: $2,291,020
- Oaks Race and Sportsbook: $1,052,241
