Sports bettors in the state of Pennsylvania wagered a record $109 million in the month of August. That intake was up 84 percent from July, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
August had the first two weeks of college football season and even a full schedule of NFL preseason football.
Online wagering accounted for $83.2 million, which was more than three-fourths of all betting on sports in August. FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino, which is in its first full month of operation, accounted for more than one-third of sports betting in the state – most of that coming via the online route.
Sportsbook operators took in just under $10 million in sports betting, a little more than $5 million more than was accounted for in July. Pennsylvania’s state and local governments also took in slightly more than $2 million in tax revenue coming from sports betting.
That revenue was only a small portion of the $293.4 million that Pennsylvania casinos, fantasy sports operators and video game terminals claimed in August – up 6.3 percent from the previous year.
The new influx of online casino games (slot machine, blackjack, various table games, etc.) tripled their revenue to $62 million via those methods in August. Casinos took $2.5 million — $1.4 million of which was claimed by state and local governments in tax revenue.
Online sports betting is clearly dominating as the preferred method over brick-and-mortar retail sportsbooks. Bettors don’t even have to leave their own home, and that’s why about 85 percent of all bets placed in nearby New Jersey have come via that route.
That’s an interesting number to look at, considering Pennsylvania is a much bigger state with a larger population of people. Now, residents don’t have to make that trek East to New Jersey and place their bets. However, it’s worth mentioning that New Jersey still does a fair amount of business, about 25 percent of all money wagered coming from residents of New York City.
State Leader
On Monday, FanDuel called itself the “Clear market leader” for online sports betting in Pennsylvania, getting 42 percent of the state’s online sports bets and 46 percent of online sports-betting revenue.
In a recent statement, FanDuel said, “Having expanded our leadership position across New Jersey and now Pennsylvania, we will continue to bring our top mobile betting platform to the expanding U.S. market.”
Geography is accounting for a big part of which casinos are taking in more business. The SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia has had the second-best results, bringing in $30.4 million.
Not to be forgotten, Rivers (BetRivers) has a nice foothold in the Pittsburgh market, taking in $21.8 million for sports bets in August – good enough for third in the state.
All in all, it’s a great start – as expected – for The Keystone State. Numbers were incredibly high in the entire New Jersey and Pennsylvania area during the month of August, and you can only expect those to increase with the NFL and college football seasons in full swing.
