Pennsylvania Sportsbooks February Revenues Fall Year-Over-Year and Month-Over-Month

Pennsylvania has bucked a nationwide trend of month-over-month sports betting declines and year-over-year gains. The Keystone State posted declines in month-over-month and year-over-year revenue categories. That said, most of our best sports betting sites still had fine months.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board February earnings report, released Wednesday, revealed mixed results for the state's sports betting scene. There were healthy drops in almost all measurable categories for Pennsylvania sports betting apps and the state's retail providers except for one. Curiously, the state sports betting handle increased year-over-year despite the home-state Philadelphia Eagles participating in last year's Super Bowl and not this year's.

All other measurables in the Pennsylvania sports betting scene, including month-over-month handle, revenue, and hold along with year-over-year revenues and hold, saw healthy declines. Despite the seemingly disappointing February sports betting figures in the Pennsylvania market, last month represented the sixth month that the state's wagering scene has experienced year-over-year growth.

$661.7 million February handle

Pennsylvania sports betting apps and retail providers combined for $661.7 million in accepted bets in February. It represents an expected and predictable 22.9% month-over-month decrease in sports betting activity, thanks mostly to the fact that only one NFL game was played during the month, albeit the biggest one. Betting apps accounted for 94.8% of all wagers.

That $661.7 million figure is also a curious 10.4% improvement over February 2023's betting activity, when the Eagles were favored to win the Super Bowl.

Through the first two months of 2023, legal sports betting activity has jumped 10.8% year-over-year to a total of $1.52 billion. Residents are still taking advantage of Pennsylvania sportsbook promos.

Revenues drop on the heels of a poor hold

Pennsylvania bettors got the best of the state's best sportsbooks in February, leading to drops in both year-over-year and month-over-month revenue figures. The state's best sportsbooks held just 7.6% last month, compared to 11.4% in January and 10.4% in February 2023, when Pennsylvania sportsbooks took advantage of the unfortunate defeat of their beloved Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.

$50.4 million in gross sports betting revenues was reported for February, a 48.1% drop from January when Pennsylvania's best sportsbooks reported nearly $97.7 million in profits. The February figure is also an 18.9% slide from $62.2 million from the same month last year. 

Thanks to citizens betting on their Eagles and their losing, last year's Super Bowl produced $29.7 million of the $62.2 million in February winnings for Pennsylvania sportsbooks. This year's Super Bowl was also good to state sportsbooks, generating $11.1 million in winnings off of a 15.5% hold.

Adjusted gross revenue, after promotions and deductions, was $30.3 million in February, allowing Pennsylvania's best sportsbooks to generate $10.3 million in tax revenue from the state's 34% tax rate.

FanDuel tops handle and revenues

As has become customary, FanDuel was the most successful Pennsylvania sports betting app during February. Thanks to a 9% hold, it led the way with $276 million in accepted bets and $27.1 million in revenues.

DraftKings Pennsylvania posted a typical second-place finish in the Pennsylvania market last month, with nearly $177.3 million in wagers and $13.9 million in revenues, based on a 7.9% hold.

ESPN BET came in a comfortable third with $52.2 million in February bets and $3.3 million in revenues from a slightly underwhelming 6.3% hold. ESPN BET Pennsylvania reached an 8.2% market share in February, eclipsing the desired 7% share the company has aimed for through its first year of operation.

BetMGM Pennsylvania was fourth, with $36.7 million in accepted wagers in February and nearly $2.5 million in revenues, with Caesars Sportsbook Pennsylvania rounding out the top five with almost $31.6 million in bets. Caesars did, however, have a miserable month in terms of revenues. A -0.3% hold led to over $89K in losses for the Pennsylvania sports betting app.