Sports betting is ready to explode in Pennsylvania, but it had one more summer month to deal with. The NFL preseason brought some slight excitement, as Pennsylvania online sportsbooks had their best showing over the course of the summer in August.
Online sportsbook operators recorded $393 million in total bets last month and $30.6 million in revenue.
PlayPennsylvania Managing Editor, Chris Imperiale, said:
“Pennsylvania sports betting saw a slight boost in action this August, generating just over $393 million in total bets for the month. This was more than a 16% increase from the previous month, and about an 8.3% jump up from a year ago in August 2022. This is a sign of things to come, as the return of football betting should rejuvenate the Keystone State going forward. College football’s one August weekend provided some help, but NFL wagering in September will bring the market back out of the summer lull.”
August 2023 numbers for Pennsylvania sports betting
Figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:
- Handle: $393 million (16% MoM increase; 8.3% YoY increase)
- Revenue: $30.6 million (22.3% MoM decrease; 27.3% YoY decrease) / Adjusted Gross Revenue (taxable): $22 million
- Hold: 7.8% (down from 11.6% last month)
- Percent of bets placed online: 93.4%
- Promotional credits: $8.6 million
- August sports betting taxes: $7.9 million
- State and local entities: $440,526.14
- Top sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook PA with $134.7 million
- Top sports betting app by revenue: DraftKings Sportsbook PA with $9.5 million
Quick analysis from August PA sports betting figures
- DraftKings put up impressive figures in August, and produced its best handle percentage since September 2022. While FanDuel Sportsbook once again led handle percentage at 34.4%, DraftKings posted a 28.9% mark. DraftKings has boasted about its product in recent earnings calls, and is perhaps closing in on the market leader. September’s revenue report will paint a clearer picture of where DraftKings stands.
- Not only did DraftKings challenge FanDuel in handle, it actually ed the operator for the first time in revenue for a single month. DraftKings recorded a hold percentage of 8.4% compared to FanDuel’s 7.0%, which resulted in $9.5 million in revenue for DraftKings and $9.4 million for FanDuel.
- The public clearly won in August with Pennsylvania sportsbooks reporting a hold percentage of 7.8%, down from 11.6% in July. Though sportsbooks took in more bets in August, revenue fell from the previous month. That could be a result of PA sportsbook promos related to the start of college football and NFL preseason games.
PA sports betting handle & revenue by operator August 2023
| Licensee | Online Brand | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge | FanDuel | $134,663,277 | $9,373,816 | 7.0% | $1,989,054 |
| Hollywood Meadows | DraftKings | $113,569,949 | $9,513,048 | 8.4% | $2,654,856 |
| Hollywood Morgantown | BetMGM | $29,618,413 | $2,826,512 | 9.5% | $631,611 |
| Hollywood Penn National | Barstool | $29,236,566 | $1,284,317 | 4.4% | $462,227 |
| Rivers Pittsburgh | BetRivers | $19,599,054 | $1,735,462 | 8.9% | $362,567 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | Caesars | $18,868,921 | $1,924,095 | 10.2% | $598,030 |
| Parx | betParx | $14,622,358 | $1,436,346 | 9.8% | $466,411 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | PlaySugarHouse | $12,742,383 | $831,034 | 6.5% | $269,416 |
| Hollywood York | PointsBet | $6,449,757 | $474,769 | 7.4% | $92,707 |
| Live Philadelphia | Betway | $4,328,485 | $352,064 | 8.1% | $126,743 |
| Mohegan Pennsylvania | Unibet | $4,050,626 | $297,084 | 7.3% | $72,383 |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | $1,246,005 | $18,376 | 1.5% | $6,283 |
| South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook | $1,030,028 | $131,967 | 12.8% | $47,508 | |
| Live Pittsburgh | $852,031 | $184,018 | 21.6% | $66,247 | |
| Mohegan Lehigh Valley | $825,436 | $75,598 | 9.2% | $27,215 | |
| Presque Isle Downs | $550,944 | $49,692 | 9.0% | $17,889 | |
| Mount Airy | Fox Bet | $426,938 | $40,483 | 9.5% | $14,606 |
| Parx Malvern | $305,727 | $57,372 | 18.8% | $20,654 | |
| Parx Shippensburg | $20,401 | $8,513 | 41.7% | $3,065 | |
| Total | $393,007,298.20 | $30,614,565.03 | 7.8% | $7,929,470.38 |
