The dog days of sports betting activity usually happen in the heat of the summer, but things start to wind down in the spring. That downturn hit Pennsylvania sports betting in April as the prolific legal gambling state booked a $646.1 million handle, the lowest of any month in 2024 so far.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board released April’s full performance recently, and the final handle tally comes in at a 13% year-over-year increase compared to the $572.2 million from the same period last year, despite the month-over-month dip.
March saw $800.7 million in wagers, which halted what would’ve been the third consecutive month-over-month decline in the category since December’s $925.6 million handle.
Pennsylvania sportsbooks cashed more than $59 million in revenue during April, marking a 9.1% statewide hold. This is also a month-over-month decline compared to March’s $63.7 million revenue performance, but a year-over-year increase from April 2023’s $51.8 million.
Keystone State coffers hauled in $14.4 million in tax revenue from sports betting in Pennsylvania last month.
In total, $2.97 billion has been wagered so far in 2024, bringing in $270.9 million in revenue for Pennsylvania sportsbooks and $64 million in taxes for the state.
Online vs. retail
Pennsylvania sports betting is one of the most prolific in the entire industry, often trailing just New York, New Jersey, and Nevada for the biggest numbers.
In many states, the online sports betting market dominates, and while that is true in the Keystone State, retail sports betting in Pennsylvania is still quite prominent.
Overall, online sports betting sites in Pennsylvania tallied a $608.3 million handle last month while PA retail sportsbooks collected $37.8 million in wagers. Some states see 99% of their bets go through online sportsbooks, but Pennsylvania’s retail handle is about 6% of the total handle.
PA online sportsbooks earned $57.6 million in revenue in April, and retail sportsbooks in Pennsylvania generated $1.5 million.
So far in 2024, PA online sportsbooks have hauled in $2.8 billion in handle and $260.1 million in revenue. Retail shops churned $10.7 million in revenue on a $162.8 total handle through the first four months of the year.
Best online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania
To no surprise, FanDuel topped the market in both online handle and revenue in April with $269.6 million and $32.2 million, respectively.
Also to no surprise, DraftKings came in second with $167 million in online handle and just over $14 million in revenue.
There’s a pretty significant drop off in performance from the rest of the market, as FanDuel and DraftKings collected 72% of all online wagering activity in April.
ESPN BET took third place with a $40.5 million online handle and $3.7 million in revenue. BetMGM’s $38.2 million online handle and $2.5 million in online revenue was good for fourth.
BetRivers rounded out the Top 5 by collecting $33 million in bets and generating $1.4 million in online revenue from that handle.
Since launching in January, Fanatics Sportsbook was the only other online sportsbook in Pennsylvania to book more than $1 million in revenue in April.
| Operator | April Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $269.6 million | $32.2 million |
| DraftKings | $167 million | $14 million |
| ESPN BET | $40.5 million | $3.7 million |
| BetMGM | $38.2 million | $2.5 million |
| BetRivers | $33 million | $1.4 million |
| Fanatics | $19.6 million | $1.9 million |
iGaming on the rise
Pennsylvania is one of the best online casino markets in the country, and it had another impressive month in this category in April.
Casino games offered online generated monthly gross revenue totaling $173.4 million last month, a 26.4% increase from April 2023’s $137.2 million. Internet gaming drive $75.6 million in tax revenue during April as well.
Overall, all forms of gaming (along with fantasy contests) posted a combined total revenue of $504.7 million, an increase of nearly 6% compared to the total revenue generated in April 2023.
All forms of gaming plus fantasy contests generated total tax revenue of $209.9 million in April.
