Pennsylvania Posts "Reasonable" April Sports Betting Step-Back

Those who follow the progress of the US legal sports betting scene by now know the trend of expected jurisdictional sports betting handle declines experienced during the month of April. The data has shown some states seeing bigger step-backs than others.

One of the most successful states in the US market, Pennsylvania is out with their April figures and they reveal a dip, but a much more muted one than other jurisdictions that have reported so far. While some have fallen in the 20-25% decline range, Pennsylvania seems to have escaped one of the leanest sports betting months on the menu with what can be described as a minor step-back.

April marked the end of four straight months of $500 million handles in Pennsylvania and the lowest sports betting total the state's sportsbooks have seen since September’s $462.8 million.

Deep Dive Into the Figures

Pennsylvania sportsbooks reported a $479.4 million sports betting handle in April, which represents a 14.4% drop from March’s $560.3 million, when the nation was in the grips of what was described at the time as the most bet on sports tournament in history.

Gross sports wagering revenues also experienced a dip. Again, they were much more muted than we have seen in other legal sports betting states that have reported so far. Pennsylvania sportsbooks made $26.3 million in April, a 10.4% slide from the $29.35 million they reported in March. The win percentage/hold was 7.5% in April, up slightly from 7.3% in March.

Year-Over-Year and Online Totals

Year-over-year spikes for the Pennsylvania legal sports betting industry aren't necessarily surprising, considering that April 2020 was the second month of widespread coronavirus shutdowns of casinos and the pause of global sports leagues.

Year-over-year handle spikes came in at 941.8% from April 2020 when just $46 million was taken in by Pennsylvania sportsbooks. Revenues increased 812% from April 2020’s $2.9 million to the $26.3 million last month.

Online betting apps continued to be the biggest driver of Pennsylvania's April sports betting handle. $439.1 million, or 91.6% of April’s handle came from internet-based wagering.

Tax contributions to state coffers came in at a still healthy $8.9 million thanks to Pennsylvania's 36% high tax rate. Local coffers benefitted to the tune of $525,930.

Just Like All Participating Us States…

Pennsylvania sportsbooks will likely have to wait until Late summer/fall before they approach any sort of handle records again. The state may even be in line for a prolonged slump that is typical during the summer.

Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com, said: “Sports betting is following normal seasonal patterns seen in almost every legal jurisdiction, so it might be until September that the state’s sportsbooks begin to challenge the state record books again.”

Just like in all participating US states, Pennsylvania sports books are hoping that the NBA and NHL playoffs running later into the summer, the potential of an Olympic Games and the state of the COVID-delayed Euro 2020 will provide a spark for the industry. Baseball alone will likely not carry the handle.

In the End

Pennsylvania sportsbooks will be just fine despite the disappointing April sports betting numbers. 16 top-end betting providers are now operational in the state with the launch of Penn National's Barstool Sports brand going live at the beginning of April.

Pennsylvania has been able to maintain its top-3 spot on the list of the most bet-friendly states in the nation and that standing doesn't appear to be in jeopardy at this point in time.

With a strong mobile betting scene and with the retail sector's 14 brick-and-mortar facilities slowly showing some signs of life, it appears that Pennsylvania will have no problem staying in the elite tier of sports betting states.

Valerie Cross, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com, added: “Retail betting, whether casino games or sports betting, continues to inch toward normal, while the gains in online revenues made over the last year continue to hold. That has created an overall gaming market that easily surpasses pre-pandemic level, even if retail betting is not quite where it was.”