The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported that the state’s legal sports betting market accepted $373.1 million in June, a nearly 25% decline from May’s $495.5 million. The year-over-year handle also fell by 5.1%.
But it wasn’t just June’s handle that fell. Sportsbooks kept fewer of their bets, which was good for bettors but not so much for the state tax bill. Operators held 9% of their wagers, much lower than May’s 11.6%.
Fewer bets combined with a lower hold is a doomsday scenario for operator revenue and state taxes. One bright spot for revenue was that Pennsylvania operators collectively offered fewer promotions that they would have deducted from their taxable income.
But still, revenue dropped 44% and so too did the state and local tax bill. It wasn’t all bad news, though, as year-over-year revenue grew by 80%.
Retail woes
Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks felt the worst of Pennsylvania’s summer betting slump. Retail handle saw a 32.5% decline and a massive 67.5% drop in revenue.
Physical sportsbooks also saw their lowest reported handle since December 2020 and held just 5.4% of the bets they took in. On top of that, online operators increased their share of the statewide handle from 92.8% to 93.6%.
FanDuel maintains its lead
FanDuel and its Valley Forge Casino was the top dog in the Keystone State, seeing $139.5 million in total bets last month, which represents a 28% monthly drop. DraftKings came in second with $100.8 million in action, a 24% fall.
These two sportsbooks dominated the market, combining for nearly 65% of the statewide handle, and were the only operators to exceed $100 million in bets. BetMGM was third with $30.1 million.
On the revenue side, FanDuel was also No. 1 but its hold fell to 8.1% (after an 11.5% hold in May). DraftKings reported a hold of 5.9%, which also dropped from 6.6%. BetMGM, which was third in revenue in May, fell to fourth as its hold hit a paltry 3.3%. BetRivers took advantage and supplanted them for third with a 6% hold.
Kindred’s Unibet, which updated its online platform as it looks for potential buyers, has a lot of work to do if it wants to make moves in Pennsylvania. It currently sits in 10th place in handle with $3.9 million and a hold percentage of 0.6%.
