Since legalizing online sports betting six months ago, Pennsylvania is well on its way to becoming one of the industry’s biggest players in the US.
It’s not quite there just yet. Nevada, where sports-wagering has never been illegal, still heads the field – if only just.
New Jersey, the state that’s led the charge since sports betting prohibition ended in May, 2018, is right on its heels with Pennsylvania a distant third.
With the football and basketball in full swing, both states can boast of having reeled in more than half-a-billion dollars in bets last month. Pennsylvania, with some of the US’s biggest sport teams, meanwhile took in $316.5m in wagers.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board disclosed this information Tuesday when it announced that handle was 31 percent up on October.
31% climb says something
Yes that’s still some $200m short of Nevada’s and New Jersey’s sports betting handle in November, but that 31% climb says something. Online betting has given all of Pennsylvania’s residents the option of betting on their smart phones where ever they may be – and it’s paying off big-time.
With its online sportsbooks getting their first-ever season of NFL play-offs and the famed Super Bowl, the pay-off should be even bigger in January and February’
And then, with college basketball’s ‘March Madness’ to follow, Pennsylvania has every chance of closing in on Nevada and New Jersey in the New Year. At least in so far as betting intake is concerned. It does, after all, have a population of 12.81 million as compared with the Garden State’s 8.09m and Nevada’s 3,03m
Revenue is something else. While its handle continues to soar month on month, its revenue is flat-lining and in some months, sinking. For instance It’s $14.7m adjusted gross revenue in November was down some $230,000 on its October figure.
We should remember that futures wagers on events like the Super Bowl are all reflected in November’s handle. On the other hand, revenue from many those wagers will not be reported until after Super Bowl in February.
36% tax rate could be a brake
Pennsylvania’s sky-high betting tax rate likely plays a part in its slow revenue story. At a highest-in-America 36% it makes revenue a lot harder to come by than say in New Jersey where it is 13% for online bets.
That tax rate might also be a reason why Pennsylvania has so far attracted less than 50% of the New Jersey’s 18 online sportsbooks.
One of them is FanDuel, the New Jersey market leader by some distance. It is also Pennsylvania’s No 1 online sportsbook. Working out of Valley Forge Casino in Philadelphia, FanDuel captured $149.7m in online bets as against the Casino’s $153m total.
Next best was Rivers Casino Philadelphia, formerly known as SugarHouse. It totaled $32.4 million in online bets as against the casino total of $41.3m
DraftKings, another New Jersey sports betting front runner, only launched its online betting app in Pennsylvania on November 7. It’s partnered with the Meadows Casino in North Strabane and in just three weeks, its mobile app gathered $16.2m in bets.
Against this, FOX Bet, in its second full month of operation, reported a handle of $13.5.