Pennsylvania Bettors Welcome NFL With Higher Monthly Handle and Lower Sportsbook Revenues

It was a long summer for the Pennsylvania sports betting scene, which, like the rest of the country, suffered from an extended slump in overall wagering activity at the best sports betting apps, best sportsbooks, and betting sites. But all of the worry and frustration due to a three-month slump is officially over.

Cue Sept. 1 and the start of the 2023-24 college and pro football seasons. Along with the commencement of pigskin action came a huge spike in handle, but still lower sportsbook revenues for the month.

Translation: Bettors came out in droves during September and they enjoyed a fair amount of success through the state's best sportsbooks.

Pennsylvania September handle highest since January

Pennsylvania sportsbooks, which offer Pennsylvania sportsbook promos, were able to snap a four-month streak of sub-$500 million sports betting months in September. In total, $726.3 million was wagered with Pennsylvania sports betting apps and the state's retail providers last month, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. 

The $726.3 million is an astounding 84.8% month-over-month spike from the $393 million that was wagered in August, and a year-over-year 12.6% jump from the $645.2 million reported in September 2022.

The figure is about $71 million away from the record $797,124,732 handle reported in October 2022.

Pennsylvania sports betting apps made up $672,861,547.60 of the total $726.3 million September sports betting haul, with retail accounting for the remaining $53,398,164.20 in wagers.

Revenues experience healthy year-over-year dip

The September revenue figures for Pennsylvania sports betting apps and retail providers reflected the fact that bettors in the state fared fairly well during the month. A record $29.5 million in promotional credits doled out through the state's providers also helped to mitigate sports betting profits in Pennsylvania.

$66.1 million in gross gaming revenues was reported in the Keystone State market during September. But net revenues came in at just $36.6 million after deductions.

It's a 27.1% year-over-year dip from the $50.2 million in profits reported in September 2022. However, $36.6 is a nice jump from August when Pennsylvania sportsbooks made $30.6 million in net profits.

Pennsylvania sports betting apps made up $61.5 million of the $66.1 million gross revenues for the state's sports betting platform. Retail providers generated $4.57 million in September gross revenues.

Thanks to a high 36% tax rate imposed on Pennsylvania sports betting providers, $12.5 million in taxes was collected to aid needy state and local Pennsylvania tax coffers.

FanDuel leapfrogs DraftKings

The battle to be the most popular Pennsylvania sports betting app once again came down to FanDuel and DraftKings. 

It was FanDuel that flipped the script on DraftKings as the winner in September. FanDuel Pennsylvania took in $253.3 million of the overall $726.3 million September handle in the Keystone State. Its gross revenue was $29.9 million, while net revenues after credits came in at $18.9 million. That's over half of the net revenue total for the whole Pennsylvania scene.

DraftKings Pennsylvania was second in terms of handle and revenues in the Pennsylvania market. It took in $228.2 million in bets during September with $19.9 million in gross revenues and $8.4 million in net taxable revenues for September.

The two juggernauts made up almost 72% of the overall sports wagering activity in the Pennsylvania market.

BetMGM Pennsylvania checked in third with $52.4 million in bets, $4.8 million in gross revenues, and $1.5 million in adjusted September revenues.