August Boosted Pennsylvania Wagering Action, Bettors Did Better

Pennsylvania sports bettors increased their activity as expected in August, taking advantage of the first available games for football betting, and they also did better at their wagering.

The state’s 13 mobile betting operators and 19 retail sportsbooks combined for $393 million in legal sports betting handle last month, according to figures released Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. They retained $30.6 million in gross revenue — for a 7.8% hold rate — and $22 million in taxable revenue after deducting $8.6 million for promotional credits.

The betting volume was up 16.1% from July and 8.3% from August 2022, but the sportsbooks did far better revenue-wise in both of those comparable months, which had unusually high hold rates (the percentage lost by bettors) above 11%. The most recent 7.8% hold has been more typical in the several years of legal sports betting in Pennsylvania.

The $30.6 million/$22 million in gross/adjusted revenue last month was down from $39.4 million/$32.1 million in July and $42.2 million/$34 million in August 2022.

At least $200 million more in sports bets are likely being placed this month than in August, due to the popular NFL and college football seasons starting in full swing. How that equates to revenue varies month by month according to bettors’ success, but the sportsbooks do tend to have their most lucrative months in the fall, one way or another.

From the August sports betting, the state received $7.9 million as its share from the 36% tax on sportsbook revenue.

DraftKings snatches monthly revenue lead

The eternal rivalry between FanDuel and DraftKings for top-dog status among Pennsylvania online sportsbooks took on a new twist in August, with DraftKings laying claim to rare status as top revenue producer. Typically, while far ahead of all other mobile sportsbooks it competes with, DraftKings trails FanDuel in both handle and revenue.

Last month, DraftKings reported $9.4 million in gross revenue and $7.3 million in taxable revenue from $112.5 million in online bets. FanDuel showed $9.2 million/$5.3 million in revenue from $133.4 million in volume.

While FanDuel was the busiest operator, as always, the gap between it and DraftKings closed. The share of the online market was 36.3% for FanDuel and 30.6% for DraftKings, compared to a 40/27.8 gap in July.

Between them, the two online sportsbook goliaths continued representing about two-thirds of all activity in the state, but there was some shakeup in the competition behind them.

Most notably, PENN Entertainment’s Barstool Sportsbook, which had seen a drop-off in activity in recent months, rebounded to claim $28.4 million in handle, which was more than twice as much as in July. From that, it claimed $1.1 million in both gross and adjusted revenue, giving away a pittance in promotional credits compared to competitors. Despite its sportsbook’s monthly gain, PENN is in the process of transitioning it to a new brand as ESPN BET this fall.

With its handle boost, Barstool nearly claimed the third spot from BetMGM for the first time in many months. BetMGM had $28.8 million in handle, for 7.8% of the online market, with $2.7 million/$1.7 million in revenue.

The two other online sportsbooks above $10 million in handle were Caesars Sportsbook at $17.8 million ($1.8 million/$1.6 million revenue) and BetRivers at $16.4 million ($1.4 million/$0.6 million).

PointsBet, which Fanatics is in the process of transitioning and rebranding as a result of its recent acquisition, took $6 million in bets in August. It had gross revenue of $382,531 and adjusted revenue of $165,282.

Unlike the month before, no active sportsbooks lost money to bettors. The one operator reporting a loss was FOX Bet, which was phased out of operations by Flutter last month and owed money it paid out to customers for futures bets.

Retail sportsbooks await big fall boost

In-person betting at 16 of the state’s casinos and three off-track betting facilities generally makes up about 7% of the amount wagered in Pennsylvania, and August was no exception.

Combined retail wagers totaled $25.8 million, with $2.7 million retained in revenue. All of the sportsbooks can expect a substantial boost in September from customers’ interest in visiting to watch games on which they have invested betting dollars.

That will most notably be the case at three Philadelphia-area casinos that had among the highest handles in the state last month: Rivers Philadelphia with $4.5 million ($289,785 revenue), Parx with $4.2 million ($344,624 revenue), and Live! Philadelphia with $3.1 million ($347,995 revenue).

On the other side of the state, Rivers Pittsburgh took $3.2 million in bets and claimed the highest revenue statewide, at $365,203.