Pennsylvania’s sports betting operators saw wagering handle rise nearly one-quarter in October but revenue growth failed to keep pace.
Figures released Monday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) showed the state’s licensed betting operators generated handle of $241.2m in October, up 24% from the previous month. Online handle totaled $198.7m, up 25.6% from September, while retail handle was up nearly 17% to $42.5m.
October’s sports betting revenue (minus bonus offers to bettors) totaled $14.95m, up only 0.4% from September. The flat figure came thanks to retail betting revenue falling nearly $1m to $4.64m, negating a $1m rise in online revenue to $10.3m.
The partnership of Valley Forge Casino Resort and Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel brand once again dominated the state’s betting market, with handle of $118m (of which all but $4.1m came via online). The tandem’s 49% share of October’s overall handle was up 3.5 points from September, while its share of online handle hit 57.3%.
Rush Street Gaming’s Rivers Casino Philadelphia (formerly SugarHouse) ranked second on the betting handle chart with $37.2m, narrowly edging out Rivers Casino Pittsburgh at $34.3m, but Rivers Philly’s betting revenue of $2.72m seriously outperformed Pittsburgh’s $1.78m. Parx Casino’s nearly $26m in handle ranked fourth while Parx’s revenue was third with $2.26m.
Mount Airy Casino, which has an online partnership with The Stars Group’s FOX Bet joint venture, placed fifth on the handle chart with $10.4m, more than twice September’s sum. Around $9.75m of FOX Bet’s October’s handle came online, while the partnership’s betting revenue totaled $509k.
ONLINE CASINO UP ONE-FIFTH
Turning to the state’s online casino market, the three functional operators reported total revenue of $4.94m in October, nearly one-fifth higher than September. Online slots revenue improved 23% to just under $4m, while online table games rose 7.2% to nearly $966k. The state’s lone online poker operator (TSG’s PokerStars) didn’t launch until this month, so we’ll have to wait for November’s report to monitor its performance.
The Kindred Group’s Unibet brand, which recently launched retail betting with its Mohegan Sun Pocono casino partner, announced late last week that its Pennsylvania online casino site was up and running. This marks the second US state in which Unibet is operational, following its launch in New Jersey with Hard Rock Atlantic City earlier this year.
Lest we forget, fantasy sports brought in revenue of $2.9m in October, down $364k from the same month last year. DraftKings and FanDuel accounted for all but around $100k of this total.
DON’T FORGET LAND-BASED GAMING
As for the state’s land-based slots and table game operations, statewide slots revenue was basically flat year-on-year at $186.9m, albeit down slightly from September’s $188.4m. It was a different story at the tables, where revenue jumped 10% year-on-year to nearly $73.2m (versus $70.6m in September). Parx won the slots derby with $34.5m, while Wind Creek Bethlehem took the table title with $17.9m.
The two operators who’ve launched video gaming terminals at Pennsylvania truck stops reported combined revenue of $466k.
All told, total statewide gaming revenue hit $283.7m, up 11% year-on-year. Parx took the overall honors with nearly $54.7m, with Wind Creek second at $39.6m and Rivers Pittsburgh third with just under $32.1m.
