The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has recently released the revenue figures for sports betting in the Keystone State. According to the figures released by the gaming regulator, the state’s sports betting sector handled a whopping $241.2 million in bets. This was a 24 percent increase from the $194.5 million that was recorded in the previous month.
From the amount that was wagered, the sportsbooks generated $19.1 million in revenue. From that, $5.1 million went to the state as tax revenue. This is the second straight month that Pennsylvania has received more than $5 million in revenue.
Online Gambling Takes the Lead
Unsurprisingly, the state’s five online sportsbooks accounted for $198.7 million of the total amount wagered in October. That is a whopping 82 percent of Pennsylvania’s handle. Since online gambling went live in the state in July, it has grown tremendously and now leads the way in terms of bringing the industry to maturity. Its growth has been meteoric but this was all expected considering just how big the state’s population is and the huge demand for online betting options.
In fact, online gambling is set to take center stage in the state’s lucrative and thriving sports betting market. A number of brands including DraftKings and FanDuel have capitalized on this and their presence is expected to fuel even more growth.
As it stands, FanDuel is the king of sports betting in Pennsylvania. The online and mobile sports betting operator handles $113.9 million in bets last month. It also generated a total of $8.1 million in revenue. Coming in at a distant with a combined handle of $56.6 million were BetRivers and Play SugarHouse. Fox Bet came in last but this is quite understandable since the newly launched online sports betting operation is still trying to adjust to the new market.
Retail Sports Betting
The highest retail sports betting handle in the state was posted by Rivers Pittsburg – it handles $7.7 million. Coming in at the second spot was the Parx Casino sportsbook which handled $7.5 million. At the third position was Rivers Philadelphia which handled $7.2 million in sports bets.
Retail sports betting as a whole went up by a modest $6 million and some improvements are expected in the near future. This is because the retail sportsbooks have been investing in rebranding and massive improvements that are meant to attract the attention of bettors. To make it even better, some of these retail sportsbooks will also be promoting online and mobile sports betting through their services at the venues. This is definitely a win-win situation for both online and retail sports betting.