Pennsylvania June Sports Betting Sees 15% Revenue Increase

Pennsylvania sports betting resisted a summer slide by reporting a 15% month-on-month revenue increase to $42.5 million in the month of June. The last month was the second consecutive month witnessing a continuous decline in handle, including online betting.

According to the latest numbers released Monday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the state’s sportsbooks took in $420.2 million in total wagers, representing a 6.1% decline from May’s $447.46 million. However, the last month’s handle was a whopping gain of 372.1% from June 2020 when the Keystone State had seen $89 million in sports betting handle amid the peak of the coronavirus.

Pennsylvania sports betting was at its highest point – in terms of the monthly handle – when the PGCB posted its best figures ($615.3 million) in January.

Mobile betting accounted for 90.3% of the total handle in June.

Revenue Details

Despite the two consecutive months of declining handles, gross sports betting revenue remained the shiny side of Pennsylvania sports betting for the second straight month.

After dishing out $8.3 million in promotional credits, Keystone State’s sportsbook posted $34.2 million as taxable revenue, which was 23.4% higher than May’s $27.74 million, and up 413.6% from what the PA sportsbooks had posted during the same period last year.

The increased revenue was due to a healthy hold rate, with PA sportsbooks holding 10.1% in June, compared to 8.4% from May.

The overall activity allowed the state to generate $12.3 million in taxes, as per the June report.

Best Fiscal Year for PA Sports Betting

It was a record fiscal year for the state’s sportsbooks since Pennsylvania sports betting launched in Nov. 2018. In FY 2020/2021, the Keystone State’s books had posted a record $5.6 billion in handle and little more than $440 million in revenue, with the state generating over $105 million in tax.

In contrast, the state had posted $2.5 billion in FY 2019/2020 and $163.3 million in revenue. The first fiscal year – from the Nov. 2018 launch to June 2019 – had brought in just $244.6 million in handle, with a taxable revenue of $21.7 million.

The Keystone State levies the highest tax on sports betting revenue at 36%, and the proceed from the industry goes into the general fund.

Who Led Pennsylvania Sports Betting in June?

Nearly seven months after launching retail sports betting, online betting went live in the state, which has defined the trend since. The majority of the bets – or 90% – are placed digitally in Pennsylvania.

When it comes to individual performance, FanDuel led the market by improving its position in July. The New York-based operator took in $162.5 million, or nearly 40% of total bets placed in Pennsylvania in June. In May, FanDuel’s handle share was 36% of the total market.

The June figure was the highest market share of FanDuel – which partners with Valley Forge Casino in the state – since Aug. 2020. The operator posted $19.7 million in revenue.

DraftKings, A Distant Second in PA Market

DraftKings was a distant second in the Pennsylvania sports betting market, with a 21% market share, slightly falling from May’s 23%.

The Boston-based operator also lagged behind in hold at 7.5% compared to FanDuel, which saw a better than average 12.2% hold. The slim hold percentage led DraftKings to a 15% share of statewide revenue for the month.

For the first time, BetMGM scaled up to claim the third position for the Pennsylvania sports betting market, thanks to its 8.9% of handle share, good enough to push Barstool (with 8%) to the fourth position. However, Barstool generated a slightly higher revenue than BetMGM’s $3.2 million.

Rivers Casino was the next significant player in the PA market as it drew roughly 10% of the handle share through its two partners – BetRivers and SugarHouse.

Other PA operators – including Caesars, Betway, Unibet, and TwinSpires – took the remaining chunks of the pie.