Pennsylvania reported considerable year-over-year growth in August for its sports betting market.
According to data provided by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), operators in the Keystone State posted a $485.2 million total betting handle in August 2024, up from $393 million for the same month last year. The results in August generated $25.5 million in revenue from online wagering with total revenue at $30 million.
By comparison, Pennsylvania sportsbooks in August 2023 posted $22 million in total revenue. That month, $19.2 million of revenue was driven from online wagering.
FanDuel leads in Pennsylvania
The Keystone State is home to 12 licensed online sportsbooks that partner with casinos.
FanDuel lead Pennsylvania sportsbooks in total handle for August with the operator closing the month with $176.4 million in accepted wagers. The Valley Forge Casino partner also led operators in online revenue at $13.3 million. In August 2023, FanDuel saw its handle close at $134.6 million with revenue for the Flutter-owned brand at $5.5 million.
DraftKings continued to trail behind its rival in Pennsylvania with the Boston-based sportsbook accepting $124.4 million in wagers in August. That month, online revenue for the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows partner closed at $7.5 million. By comparison, DraftKings saw its handle in August 2023 reach $113 million with revenue at $7.2 million.
Newcomers battle in Pennsylvania
The Keystone State is also home to recently launched operators ESPN Bet and Fanatics.
ESPN Bet, a rebrand of Barstool Sportsbook, reported a $21.7 million handle in August with online revenue reaching $1.1 million. The results marked a substantial drop in handle from Barstool’s operations in August 2023. That month, the former PENN Entertainment brand accepted $29.2 million in wagers with online revenue closing at $1.1 million.
Fanatics slightly edged ESPN Bets in August with the operator accepting $22.5 million in wagers. Despite the uptick in handle, the Hollywood Casino York partner failed to drive similar revenue to ESPN Bet. In August, Fanatics posted only $395,201 in online revenue.
The revenue was an increase from the sportsbook’s operations as PointsBet. In August 2023, PointsBet reported a $6.4 million handle with online revenue at $165,282.
Fanatics acquired PointsBet’s U.S. assets last year in a deal valued at $225 million.
Some struggles in Pennsylvania
In August 2024, four licensed operators reported either $0 in online revenue or a loss.
That month, bet365 suffered the heaviest online revenue loss at $546,525 despite a handle of $28.6 million. August marked the first full month of bet365’s operations in the state.
Caesars also posted a $19.4 million total handle but a $86,321 loss of online revenue. In August 2023, it generated $1.5 million in online revenue behind a $18.8 million handle.
Betfred online revenue losses in August reached $20,790 despite a $869,755 handle. By comparison, it posted $4,827 in online revenue in August 2023 with a $1.2 million handle.
In August 2024, BetPARX was the lone online operator to not generate revenue.
