PA Sportsbooks Break State Record With $829 Million In October Handle

Written By Corey Sharp on November 17, 2023 - Last Updated on December 19, 2023
Photo of a Phillies playoff game for a story about Pennsylvania sports betting setting a new record in October with over $829 million in total handle.

Pennsylvania put to rest the idea that the state is too mature for future growth in sports betting. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported a new record of $829 million in total October bets. The Keystone smashed the previous record of $797.1 million in handle set back in October 2022.

PA online sportsbooks brought in $73.6 million in revenue.

PlayPennsylvania Managing Editor, Chris Imperiale, said:

“Pennsylvania sports betting continued to feel the effects of the NFL and football betting in October. PA sportsbooks set a new record for overall handle, generating more than $829 million in total bets last month, a 14% increase from September and a year-over-year jump of around 4%. The just over $829 million beat out the state’s previous best from October 2022 by nearly $32 million. While it’s considered a mature market, there is still room for growth. It’s likely the Philadelphia Phillies’ postseason run contributed to the massive October, which means November could see a slight downturn even with lots of football remaining.”

October 2023 numbers for Pennsylvania sports betting

? Handle: $829 million (14% MoM increase; 4% YoY increase)

? Revenue: $73.6 million (11% MoM increase; 20% YoY increase) / Adjusted Gross Revenue (taxable): $48.1 million

? Hold: 8.9% (down from 9.1% last month)

? Percent of bets placed online: 93.3%

? Promotional credits: $25.5 million

? October sports betting taxes: $16.4 million

? State and local entities: $963,001

? Top sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook PA with $328.4 million

? Top sports betting app by revenue: FanDuel Sportsbook PA with $29.1 million

Quick analysis from October PA sports betting figures

  • Despite FanDuel Sportsbook PA putting up monster handle numbers, best product in the market, according to survey results, and could attract more customers after announcing Progressive Parlays. The new feature pays out money if up to multiple legs of a parlay miss.
  • Caesars Sportsbook PA had a solid month in the handle department, producing the fourth-most total bets of any operator. However, the platform calculated a 0.7% hold percentage and made just $297,039 in revenue. Caesars has another two months of football left to rebound from a down month.
  • Barstool Sportsbook PA generated $32.3 million in October handle, good for sixth-best in the state. October was the last full month of the app in operation as PENN Entertainment has turned to ESPN Bet PA as its new sports betting partner. We won’t get a good picture of ESPN Bet PA’s performance until December revenue comes out, when the operator has been fully functional for an entire month.

PA sports betting handle & revenue by operator October 2023

Licensee Online Brand Handle Revenue Hold Taxes
Valley Forge FanDuel $328,423,200 $29,140,402 8.9% $6,542,696
Hollywood Meadows DraftKings $258,270,691 $28,132,084 10.9% $6,817,877
Hollywood Morgantown BetMGM $53,577,187 $3,930,469 7.3% $697,936
Harrah's Philadelphia Caesars $39,639,095 $297,039 0.7% ($121,263)
Rivers Pittsburgh BetRivers $33,514,954 $3,306,442 9.9% $818,929
Hollywood Penn National Barstool $32,270,928 $1,686,650 5.2% $606,901
Parx betParx $22,066,334 $1,688,899 7.7% $509,287
Rivers Philadelphia PlaySugarHouse $20,682,296 $1,693,686 8.2% $450,710
Hollywood York PointsBet $12,370,496 $947,266 7.7% $47,604
Live Philadelphia Betway $10,242,771 $976,038 9.5% $351,374
Mohegan Pennsylvania Unibet $7,652,357 $671,906 8.8% $194,816
Wind Creek Wind Creek $2,413,788 $58,237 2.4% $20,405
Live Pittsburgh $2,164,477 $381,673 17.6% $137,402
South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook $1,900,784 $226,503 11.9% $81,541
Presque Isle Downs $1,546,778 $188,291 12.2% $67,785
Mohegan Lehigh Valley $1,473,102 $205,493 13.9% $73,978
Mount Airy Fox Bet $726,700 $85,501 11.8% $30,780
Parx Shippensburg $66,661 $14,618 21.9% $5,263
Parx Malvern - - - -
Total $829,002,595 $73,631,197 8.9% $17,334,020
Photo by Matt Rourke / AP
Corey Sharp Avatar
Written by
Corey Sharp

Corey Sharp is the Lead Writer at PlayPennsylvania bringing you comprehensive coverage of sports betting and gambling in Pennsylvania. Corey is a 4-for-4 Philly sports fan and previously worked as a writer and editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

View all posts by Corey Sharp
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