Pennsylvania’s lifetime sports betting handle hit $1 billion as the state’s sportsbooks celebrated the industry’s first birthday last month.
According to figures from PlayPennsylvania.com, FanDuel still dominates the growing sports betting scene in the state, despite stiff competition from the recently launched online offerings of DraftKings and Unibet (read more).
Reflecting on the first year of sports betting in Pennsylvania, analyst Dustin Gouker said:
“Pennsylvania has come a long way in a year. Plagued with relatively high gaming taxes and early hurdles to its online launch, Pennsylvania’s future as a legal sport betting jurisdiction was murky at the beginning. But despite the issues in its infancy, the state has proven to be attractive for operators and the market is truly beginning to flourish.”
According to official data, in November Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks accepted $316.5 million in wagers, a significant 31.2% increased on October’s $241.2 million (read more). Those wagers generated $20.6 million in revenue, up slightly from October’s $19.1 million, and yielded $3.9 million in taxes for the state.
Putting things in perspective, back in November 2018, Pennsylvania’s first, and at the time only sportsbook, at the Hollywood Casino, generated $1.4 million in bets and $508,997 in gross revenue. Since then the state has grown to become the third-largest legal sports betting jurisdiction in the United States, after Nevada and neighbouring New Jersey (which accepted $562.2m in bets in November).
The state’s betting fortunes were boosted greatly in summer 2019, with the launch of online betting, and more operators have since entered the market, bringing the total to seven. Unsurprisingly, online sports betting is now dominating the market, generating 84.3% of the state’s November handle.
Commenting on this Gouker added:
“Online sports betting has unquestionably been the key driver of the state’s growth. Not only has online betting grown to account for an overwhelming majority of the state’s handle, but it has also helped spur growth among retail sportsbooks. That is a pattern that we saw in New Jersey, too.”
For more information on the revenue generated by Pennsylvania sports betting, visit https://www.playpennsylvania.com/revenue/.
Staying with US sports betting, don’t miss WHY THESE TWO SPORTSBOOKS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE US MARKET.
