Sports wagering has been lauded as playing a crucial part in pushing Pennsylvania revenues forward further still, with punters grabbing the first chance to legally bet on the National Football League during its pre-season stage.
According to new figures released the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board handle from the state’s online and retail sportsbooks jumped to a record $109m in August, up 84 per cent from the previous record of $59.3m set in July.
SugarHouse Casino gained the retail market lead in August with $5.4m in bets that yielded $816,768 in revenue, however it was overtaken by the FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino as market leader.
The property, which saw its sports wagering entity enjoy its first full month of operation, attracted $35.3m in online bets during the month which generated $2.9m in revenue.
“Sports bettors almost universally bet on football, so it is no surprise that even with just one full week of college football games and NFL futures to bet on, that Pennsylvania would experience a significant uptick,” stated Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com.
“But with the NFL season now underway and more sportsbooks online, August’s successes are just a precursor to much bigger things ahead.
“Online betting in Pennsylvania will continue to increase its share of the state’s handle to a level on par with New Jersey.
“To that point, the early-September launch of Fox Bet — the first major sports media-branded betting site in any state — is an interesting development that should gain bettors’ attention. And other online sportsbooks are planning on launching this fall.”
SugarHouse Casino, Parx Casino and Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course enjoyed their first full month of online casino games in August, and generated $3.4m in gross revenue on $111.8m in wagers, up from $812,306 in July.
Sugarhouse led the way with $1.6m in revenue on $40.9m in bets, but Parx accepted $53.1m in wagers but secured revenue of $1.09m. Overall revenue across the entire state increased 6.33 per cent year-on-year from $275.9m to $293.4m.
“It will take a few more months before we get a clear picture of Pennsylvania’s online gambling market, but the early returns are positive,” added Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com.
“This market should grow dramatically before the end of the year, working with online sportsbooks to grow exponentially in the coming months.”
