Pennsylvanians Wagered $68M Legally On Super Bowl, Lost $4.6M

Betting on Sunday's game, like the number of outlets for doing so, was at an all-time high
rams super bowl
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Pennsylvania sports bettors had more opportunities to wager legally on the Super Bowl than ever before, and they took advantage.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board released figures Wednesday showing the 14 online and 18 retail sportsbooks in the state took a record $68 million in wagers on the game, compared to $53.6 million last year.

The bettors also did better in minimizing their losses for Sunday’s contest in which the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20, as the operators’ gross revenue amounted to $4.6 million — a 6.8% hold rate.

Last year, the 12 online and 15 retail sportsbooks then in operation retained $9.4 million when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. That reflected a much higher hold rate of 17.5%.

Number of online bettors up also

The gaming board said information from GeoComply, a technology service employed by operators to ensure bettors are within the state’s boundaries, indicated that 413,000 unique users logged onto online sports wagering sites in Pennsylvania on Super Bowl Sunday. That was an increase from 320,000 in 2021.

Those GeoComply numbers do not track the bettors showing up in person at the casinos and OTB parlors in the state. Of the total handle, $61.1 million in bets were placed online (about 90%) and $6.9 million in person.

Pennsylvania’s numbers show the state’s Super Bowl betting volume was well below that of New Jersey, which reported $143.7 million in handle, but more than Illinois, which reported $60.5 million. The operators’ $4.6 million in Pennsylvania revenue was well below those other states, as sportsbooks won $9.5 million from bettors in Illinois and $7.8 million in New Jersey.

Unlike monthly revenue reports, the gaming board’s Super Bowl-focused numbers did not break down handle and revenue by operator.

Photo: Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY

Facebook
Twitter
Email

Related Posts