Pennsylvania’s Second-Highest Hold Rate Ever Leads To July Revenue Gains

Our best sports betting sites in Pennsylvania shrugged off a dip in month-over-month wagering activity to post respectable monthly revenues, thanks partly to the second-highest win rate ever for state providers.

While true that the Keystone State’s sportsbooks saw a month-over-month drop in handle, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board July report, a 12.7% win rate helped Pennsylvania’s best sportsbook to revenue gains, both year-over-year and month-over-month.

In July, FanDuel was once again the most popular Pennsylvania sports betting app. It had the highest handle and nearly doubled the monthly revenues of its closest competitor, DraftKings.

July handle

Pennsylvania sports betting raked in $414.7 million in handle in July, representing the second straight month that overall wagering activity was below $500 million.

But it is a 22.5% year-over-year improvement from last July's $338.5 million handle, despite an expected month-over-month drop of nearly $50 million from the $464.5 million from June despite plenty of attractive Pennsylvania sportsbook promos.

Pennsylvania sports betting apps contributed $392.1 million to the state’s $414.7 million July handle, while retail contributed the remaining $22.6 million.

Revenues climb

Perhaps the best news from the Pennsylvania July sports betting report was revenues, which increased from last year’s totals and from the previous month despite a month-over-month handle drop.

The reason for the revenue gains? It is the 12.7% hold rate for state providers, the second-highest ever for the Pennsylvania legal sports betting scene.

Keystone state providers reported $52.7 million in gross gaming revenue in July. That figure represents a 34% year-over-year increase from $39.4 million last July but is an almost 22.5% month-over-month spike from the nearly $43 million reported in June.

Taxable revenue, after promotions and deductions, was $38.6 million — a 20% year-over-year increase. This led to $13.9 million in taxes flowing into needy Pennsylvania state and local tax coffers.

June’s tax totals surged Pennsylvania’s best sportsbooks year-to-date tax payouts past $100 million.

FanDuel takes top spot

FanDuel Pennsylvania was the top-performing Pennsylvania sports betting site during July, partly due to FanDuel promo codes. It accepted $165.5 million in wagers during the month and claimed $23.4 million in winnings from a 14% hold. FanDuel’s high hold rate allowed revenues to jump $1.7 million month-over-month despite $13.7 million less in overall wagers.

DraftKings Pennsylvania was a familiar second in the Pennsylvania legal sports betting market. DraftKings reported a $109.5 million July handle in Pennsylvania, and reported $12.7 million in monthly revenue, a $1 million month-over-month improvement for the provider.

BetMGM Pennsylvania rounded out the top three but was well out of the top spots. BetMGM accepted $28.1 million in bets in July and $3.1 million in revenue. BetRivers Pennsylvania took in $22 million in bets and $2.1 million in revenues. ESPN BET Pennsylvania made the top five with $18.6 million in accepted bets during the month and $2.2 million in revenues.

Also, the newest Pennsylvania sports betting app, bet365 Pennsylvania, accepted $1.2 million in bets just over a week after its July 22 launch. Over that time, it handed out $1.9 million in promotional credits as bettors flocked to use bet365 bonus codes.