The return of football in September contributed to yet another great milestone for the Keystone State’s sports betting market which is barely a year old. According to a revenue report that was released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, retail and online sportsbooks in the state handled wagers totaling to a whopping $194.5 million.
That amount is a 78 percent increase from the previous $109 million record that was posted in August. From the amount that was wagered, the operators earned $19.3 million in revenue which was also a huge increase from the $9.9 million that was earned in August. Based on the state’s 36 percent tax rate on gross revenue, the state received $5.3 million in tax revenue.
September marked the very first time that the state’s sportsbooks could legally accept wagers on the NFL’s games. As expected, lots of fans took advantage of the opportunity proving that they had been eagerly anticipating the development since the state’s sports betting market took off last December.
The popularity of the NFL’s games, according to experts in the field, makes the football season one of the best ways of determining how healthy the gaming market it. This applies not just to Pennsylvania but many other states with legal sports betting as well.
Exceptional Performance by Online Sportsbooks
The Keystone State’s five online sports betting operations generated a combined $158.2 million in September which was almost double the $83.2 million they handled in August. In fact, online gambling accounted for 81 percent of the total handle thus proving the immense potential of that sector.
The online sports betting and daily fantasy sports (DFS) providers struggled to get to the top spot. The FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino eventually topped the field – it accepted $85.1 million in bets and $7.1 million in revenue. FanDuel was followed by SugarHouse Casino, Rivers Casino, Parx Casino and Fox Bet which handled $31.2 million, $23.5 million, $13.8 million and $4.5 million in bets respectively.
Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) Keep Going
Despite the growing interest in sports betting, daily fantasy sports (DFS) is still posting pretty impressive results. In September, the sector recorded a 37.27 percent revenue increase from the same period last year. Tax revenue from the sector totaled to $439,357 and unsurprisingly, FanDuel was still in the lead.
| Fantasy Contest Operator | September 2019 |
| DraftKings | $1,582,253 |
| FanDuel | $1,364,193 |
| Draft | $24,152 |
| Boom Fantasy | $822 |
| Sportshub Technologies | $212 |
| Full Time Fantasy Sports | — |
| Yahoo Fantasy Sports | -$9,160 |
| Fantasy Draft | -$33,426 |
| Statewide Total | $2,929,047 |
