Action in the Keystone State continues to slow down in 2024 but compared to 2023, sports betting is surging.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced a May handle of $591.9 million, down 8.3% month-over-month but up 19.4% year-over-year. April followed a similar trend, as the amount wagered dropped 19% compared to March’s handle but surged 13% year-over-year.
Despite less action in May, gross revenue rose 4.4% to $61.7 million. Taking away nearly $17.5 million in promotional credits, Pennsylvania’s online and retail sports betting operators hauled in profits of $44.2 million, up from $42.4 million in April and 7.6% higher year-over-year.
The NBA and NHL playoffs and MLB might not have produced enough action to compete with a busier April, but the 10.4% hold rose nearly a point month-over-month.
Pennsylvania filled its coffers with $15.9 million in May tax revenue, up from $14.4 million the previous month.
Big numbers add up
The Keystone State represents one of the top gaming markets in the U.S.
With May’s wagers, Pennsylvania sports betting surpassed $30 billion all-time in handle, joining New York, New Jersey, Nevada, and Illinois to reach that milestone. Wagers also eclipsed the $3 billion mark year-to-date.
With one month left in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, the handle reached $7.7 billion while gross revenue sits just shy of $690 million. Operators have paid out more than $164 million in taxes to the state since July 2023.
FanDuel keeps streak alive
Online sports betting accounted for $556.9 million of the total handle and $59.1 million in revenue.
| Operator | May Handle | May Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $243 million | $31.2 million |
| DraftKings | $163.3 million | $15.1 million |
| BetMGM | $36.3 million | $3.3 million |
| ESPN BET | $31.6 million | $3.1 million |
| BetRivers | $22.3 million | $1.8 million |
| Caesars | $19.6 milion | $756,642 |
FanDuel’s state-best monthly handle exceeded $200 million for the ninth consecutive month and put the popular mobile sportsbook over $1.48 billion for the amount wagered in 2024.
DraftKings finished second with a $163.3 million handle while producing half of FanDuel’s $31.2 million revenue.
BetMGM edged ESPN BET for the third spot in May by less than $5 million, but only $200,000 separated their revenues. BetRivers was the only other online sportsbook to reach $20 million in wagers.
Caesars came close in handle, while a 3.8% hold kept the mobile operator from reaching $1 million in revenue.
Revenues up for retail and igaming
Retail’s sports betting handle slipped 7.7% month-over-month to $34.9 million in May, but a solid 7.4% hold led to revenue of $2.6 million, up 85% from April.
Online casinos saw revenue grow 23.5% year-over-year to $174 million, up slightly from April’s $173.4 million. The Keystone State hauled in $76 million in tax revenue from iGaming.
All forms of gaming, including traditional casino games and fantasy sports, produced $521 million in revenue, an 8.7% increase year-over-year.
