With Another Month Before Football, PA DFS Struggles

Written By J.R. Duren on August 21, 2018
football field goal against sky

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) released the July adjusted revenue numbers for the state’s daily fantasy sports industry. For the second consecutive month, revenue is down after a stellar May.

Of note is the fact that DraftKings has led FanDuel for two consecutive months, surging past its rival in June and maintaining its lead in July.

Breaking down the numbers; DraftKings is king

The PGCB’s revenue report includes the adjusted revenue of all nine of the state’s approved daily fantasy sports operators.

Two of those operators, DraftKings and FanDuel, are by far the biggest sources of revenue for the state.

This past month, the top two once again carried the lion’s share of revenue. Here is a list of all the companies who made money from their DFS sites in July:

  • DraftKings
  • FanDuel
  • DRAFT
  • Fantasy Draft
  • Sportshub Technologies
  • Boom Fantasy
  • Fast Pick
  • Full Time Fantasy Sports
  • Fantasy Football Players Championship

Of the $878,000 the DGE recorded for July, all but around $10,700 came from DraftKings and FanDuel.

DRAFT, the New York-based fantasy site, posted $10,192 in revenue, putting it more than $7,000 ahead of Fantasy Draft and Yahoo Fantasy Sports.

Sportshub Technologies was the only other operator to earn more than $1,000 in adjusted revenue, while Boom Fantasy registered $264 in revenue.

Revenue has fluctuated drastically in first three months

Daily fantasy sports became part of PA gambling’s future when it was included in the history-making gambling expansion bill that Pennsylvania lawmakers approved in August.

DFS launched in PA in May, which also happens to be the most profitable of the three in which DFS has been in existence

The total adjusted revenue for the past three months has been:

  • May: $1.33 million
  • June: $1.01 million
  • July: $878,184

While the downward trend has been consistent, the revenue of the individual operators has shot up and down or, in one case, completely disappeared.

Yahoo Fantasy

In May, Yahoo’s popular DFS platform earned them $4,430 but the following month they reported negative adjusted income of $32. They bounced back in  $1,627 in revenue, but still lagging far behind titans DraftKings and FanDuel.

FastPick

FastPick, a non-salary-cap DFS league, provides DFS betting for NHL, NBA, MLB, NBA, and soccer matches.

In May, the company pulled in a modest $319. The following month, their revenue dropped to less than $70. In August, the company wasn’t even listed in the PGCB’s revenue reports.

May’s dual finals may have contributed to big month

Baseball is in full swing, making the decline in DFS revenue an interesting one.

However, when you take into account the Washington Capitals’ Stanley Cup win and the Golden State Warriors’ win, it’s easier to see why May was a boom month for PA DFS.

As we approach the NFL regular season, DFS numbers should rise significantly because the game format is quick, easy and can be played every week with little to no skill.

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J.R. Duren

J.R. Duren has covered the gambling beats for more than a dozen states for Catena Media since 2015. His past reporting experience includes two years at the Villages Daily Sun, and he is a first-place winner at the Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism Contest.

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