Pennsylvania Posts Normal Sports Betting Dip in July

The dog days of summer for the U.S. legal sports betting industry have proven to be tough, even for reliable states like Pennsylvania. This week, it was revealed that Pennsylvania, like all other jurisdictions that have reported their July earnings figures, saw a month-over-month drop in overall sports betting activity.

But the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board July report came with some positive news, as well. 

The hold rate and revenues for 13 Pennsylvania sports betting apps and the state's 19 retail providers ticked up from June, and a year-over-year improvement for the Keystone State legal sports betting scene was exposed.

Handle down nearly 10%

Pennsylvania sports betting brought in a total of $338.5 million in sports wagers in July. The month-over-month drop wasn't quite as drastic as in other U.S. legal sports jurisdictions, but July did end up producing 9.3% less than June's $373.1 million.

The July 2023 handle is actually higher than the same period in 2022. The $338.5 million is 0.6% higher than the $335.5 million in bets in the Keystone State in July 2022.

93.4% of all bets in the Keystone State came from Pennsylvania’s best sports betting apps.

Revenues ticked up

Despite a lower sports betting handle in July, Pennsylvania’s best sportsbooks enjoyed a nice increase in revenues for its providers. The Pennsylvania Control Board reported $39.4 million in sportsbook profits last month. It is a 16.3% month-over-month increase from the $33.87 million in June and an 18.6% year-over-year increase from the $33.2 million in July 2022.

The big reason for the jump in profits is bettors faring poorer in July. Pennsylvania betting sites held 11.6% in July which is the second highest rate ever for the Keystone State. The hold rate was 9.1% in June and 9.9% in July 2022.

Adjusted gross revenue came in at $32.1 million. $11.5 million in taxes was collected off that total.

FanDuel the best by far

A lot has been made about the battle between FanDuel and DraftKings for supremacy in the broad U.S. legal sports betting market. But in Pennsylvania, the battle wasn’t necessarily a close one in July.

FanDuel took in more bets in the Keystone State in July than the second and third sportsbooks combined. FanDuel was responsible for $127.6 million of the overall $338.5 million handle and nearly $17.3 million of the overall $39.4 million in revenues. That's a 40% market share for FanDuel Pennsylvania.

DraftKings Pennsylvania was a distant second in the race to be Pennsylvania's best sports betting app. They took in $88.9 million in July and produced $9.7 million in revenues.

BetMGM was third with $24.56 million in bets and $2.85 million in revenues, Caesars was fourth with $19.4 million in bets and $1.46 million in revenue, and BetRivers rounded out the top-five with $17.1 million in July bets and $1.9 million in revenue.

Barstool Sportsbook, which is in the process of being rebranded to ESPN Bet, justified PENN Entertainment’s move to bolster their market share and finished a disappointing sixth in Pennsylvania in July. PointsBet, which will be transitioning to Fanatic Sportsbook Pennsylvania, finished down the list as well and took in just $4.6 million in bets in July.

FOX Bet, the other sportsbook on their way out of the Pennsylvania market, saw just $3.2 million in bets in July (good for a 1% market share).