After a steep decline in February, PA online sports betting rebounded in March thanks to a stellar March Madness.
PA sports betting operators recorded $723.5 million in March betting handle. It’s a 20.7% month-over-month increase and a slight 1.2% increase year-over-year.
“After a slower month of February, Pennsylvania sportsbooks saw plenty of betting action again in March, recording more than $723.5 million in handle last month,” said PlayPennsylvania Managing Editor Chris Imperiale. “March Madness betting seemed to have played a role in getting sports betting figures back to where they were during the NFL season. March’s handle was up around $124 million from February, and increased about 1.2% compared to March 2022.”
Pennsylvania sportsbooks recorded $66.5 million in revenue, which is the largest amount so far in 2023.
March 2023 numbers for Pennsylvania sports betting
Figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:
- Handle: $723.5 million (20.7% MoM increase; 1.2% YoY increase)
- Revenue: $66.5 million (6.9% MoM increase; 43% YoY increase) / Adjusted Gross Revenue (taxable): $50.6 million
- Hold: 9.1% (down from 10.4% last month)
- Percent of bets placed online: 92.2%
- Promotional credits: $15.9 million
- February sports betting taxes: $14.7 million
- State and local entities: $1,012,905.20
- Top sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook with $280.7 million
- Top sports betting app by revenue: FanDuel Sportsbook with $30.3 million
Quick analysis from March PA sports betting figures
- March Madness remains a popular sporting event to bet on among Pennsylvanians. It’s the second straight March in which Pennsylvania recorded a handle of more than $700 million. After a hiatus from the NCAA Tournament in 2020, the Keystone State only posted $560.2 million in March 2021. The second straight year with betting handle exceeding $700 million (nearly $715 million in 2022) proves that this is what the norm usually is for Pennsylvania.
- Pennsylvania sportsbooks capitalized much more on March Madness this season compared to last. With handle relatively the same, Pennsylvania sportsbooks brought in $66.5 million in revenue compared to $48.5 million last year.
- Caesars PA Sportsbook has taken over the No. 4 spot in terms of handle for the first time ever. Caesars recorded $38.3 million in online handle, and has overtaken Barstool Sportsbook, which recorded $35.1 million in handle. Caesars entered the PA market late and has occupied the sixth or seventh spot in terms of PA handle for the last several months. The Las Vegas-based sportsbook appears to be making some strides in the Keystone State. However, once again, FanDuel PA Sportsbook dominated with a 42% market share. DraftKings PA Sportsbook posted a 28% market share.
PA sports betting handle & revenue by operator March 2023
| Licensee | Online Brand | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge | FanDuel | $280,736,701 | $30,375,370 | 10.8% | $8,598,549 |
| Hollywood Meadows | DraftKings | $187,855,892 | $15,065,540 | 8.0% | $4,431,651 |
| Hollywood Morgantown | BetMGM | $56,430,674 | $6,308,183 | 11.2% | $1,084,818 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | Caesars | $40,437,541 | $1,930,947 | 4.8% | $430,133 |
| Hollywood Penn National | Barstool | $36,988,969 | $2,913,623 | 7.9% | $772,706 |
| Rivers Pittsburgh | BetRivers | $32,068,733 | $2,791,292 | 8.7% | $733,067 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | PlaySugarHouse | $30,506,659 | $1,593,306 | 5.2% | $555,965 |
| Parx | betParx | $16,848,708 | $1,712,062 | 10.2% | $569,754 |
| Hollywood York | PointsBet | $11,998,397 | $1,259,676 | 10.5% | $227,441 |
| Live Philadelphia | Betway | $7,129,473 | $483,286 | 6.8% | $173,983 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | Unibet | $6,349,474 | $459,347 | 7.2% | $101,730 |
| Mount Airy | Fox Bet | $6,236,077 | $702,546 | 11.3% | $239,664 |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | $4,071,165 | $233,880 | 5.7% | $83,615 |
| South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook | $1,717,189 | $215,950 | 12.6% | $77,742 | |
| Mohegan Lehigh Valley | $1,674,007 | $120,476 | 7.2% | $43,372 | |
| Live Pittsburgh | $1,344,571 | $88,986 | 6.6% | $32,035 | |
| Presque Isle Downs | $837,821 | $142,659 | 17.0% | $51,357 | |
| Parx Malvern | $291,682 | $62,311 | 21.4% | $22,432 | |
| Parx Shippensburg | $22,074 | $6,335 | 28.7% | $2,280 | |
| Total | $723,545,806 | $66,465,774 | 9.2% | $18,232,293 |
