Pennsylvania sportsbooks slipped into their summer slumber taking $493.3 million in bets in May. It’s about a 14% decrease in handle from April but it didn’t have a big impact on revenue which was $47.8 million, a 2.5% MoM decrease.
However, Pennsylvania online casinos and poker sites seem to never “sleep.” They reached $136 million in gross gaming revenue in May. It was just shy of the monthly US record ($142.7 million) PA online casinos set in March.
May 2022 numbers for Pennsylvania sports betting
Figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
- Handle: $493.3 million
- Revenue: $47.8 million/adjusted gross revenue (taxable): $35 million
- Hold: 9.7% (up from 8.5% last month)
- Percent of bets placed online: 93%
- Promotional credits: $12.8 million
- Month-over-month: Handle decreased 14%; revenue decreased 2.5%
- May sports betting taxes: $11.9 million to the state and $700,197 to local entities.
- Top sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook with $191.7 million
- Top sports betting app by revenue: FanDuel Sportsbook ($25.1 million)
*Full revenue breakdown below.
May 2022 numbers for online casinos and poker in PA
- Online slots revenue: $101.7 million
- Online table games revenue: $32.3 million
- Poker revenue: $2.8 million
*Full revenue breakdown below.
5 key takeaways from PA gaming revenue in May 2022
1. Overall PA gambling industry stays strong amid inflation concerns
According to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the combined total revenue from all forms of gaming in PA in May was over $447.8 million. It’s an 8.3% YoY increase and a 3% MoM decrease.
Land-based slot revenue hit $205.6 million, a 2% YoY rise. Parx Casino continues to lead all casino operators with $34.3 million in slot win. Table game revenue for all casinos was $88.5 million, up 14% compared to a year ago. Wind Creek Casino led with $22.5 million followed by Parx ($17.6 million).
Parx Casino in Bensalem has been the longtime highest-grossing casino in Pennsylvania. In an episode of Casino Update, Parx CMO Marc Oppenheimer spoke about how current economics and inflation are impacting visitors.
Oppenheimer said that they have seen customers who are over 70 years old have an increased visitation rate but the spend per-visit is down almost 20%.
“That’s a group that’s more likely to be more impacted by inflation and the bond market declining.”
He also mentioned the younger age groups are coming less due to the summer weather.
“My expectation is a rough summer. Then maybe come Sepetmeber/October start to see an improvement.”
According to May figures, Parx slot revenue decreased 9.2% YoY and table games revenue decreased 2.1%.
2. Online casinos: No sleep, keep cookin’
Sportsbooks are subject to seasonality. The Philadelphia Sixers were ousted from the NBA playoffs in mid-May and the summer represents slower months for options for sports betting.
PA online casinos stayed hot. The state’s 18 online casinos and four poker sites pulled in $137 in gross gaming revenue. It was the third-highest all-time. Revenue for iGaming totaled $4.4 million per day (down from $4.6 million per day in March and April). Compared to May 2021, PA iGaming revenue rose 28%.
While Pennsylvania’s online casinos don’t have the same quantity of games as New Jersey online casinos have, they do have the quality.
An Eilers-Fantini report shows the top online casino games by gross gaming revenue and the top 5 are all available in PA:
- Blackjack (IGT)
- Live Dealer Roulette (just arrived in PA by Evolution)
- 88 Fortunes
- Live Dealer Blackjack
- Cleopatra
3. FanDuel market share leader in PA
Blake Weishaar, Editor at Fantini Research, commented to PlayPennsylvania:
“FanDuel continues to dominate sports betting market share in the Keystone State, accounting for 53% of total sports betting revenue in May. That market share fell short of April’s record 58 percent. When looking strictly at handle, which is a better measuring stick for market share, FanDuel has held a consistent 35%+ share over the last five months, culminating in 39% in May.”
4. Sportsbooks won in April
Bettors did not break the books in May. Last month, online sportsbooks’ hold was 8.6%. This month it was 9.7%. For reference, the national average is 7.1%. FanDuel’s hold percentage was 13.1%. FanDuel was one of the first sportsbooks to introduce single-game parlays.
5. Barstool Sportsbook in PA
In May, Barstool PA online sportsbook ranked fourth in the state for handle and revenue. Parent company Penn National has made it clear they want Barstool Sportsbook to be judged on net gaming revenue (NGR), not handle. So, let’s compare Barstool Sportsbook to the NGR of FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM for May.
FanDuel
- Revenue: $25.1 million
- Promo credits: $5.4
- NGR: $19.1 million
DraftKings
- Revenue: $8.1 million
- Promo credits: $1.1 million
- NGR: $6.9 million
Barstool Sportsbook
- Revenue: $2.3 million
- Promo credits: $679K
- NGR: $1.6 million
BetMGM
- Revenue: $4.5 million
- Promo credits: $3.7 million
- NGR: $787K
PA sports betting handle & revenue by operator May 2022
| Licensee | Online Brand | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge | FanDuel | $193,397,934 | $25,285,340 | 13.1% | $7,135,809 |
| Hollywood Meadows | DraftKings | $111,532,781 | $8,275,455 | 7.4% | $2,552,497 |
| Hollywood Morgantown | BetMGM | $54,113,905 | $4,538,745 | 8.4% | $301,400 |
| Hollywood Penn National | Barstool | $34,381,764 | $2,613,212 | 7.6% | $696,400 |
| Rivers Pittsburgh | BetRivers | $23,802,079 | $2,211,383 | 9.3% | $640,373 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | SugarHouse | $16,882,345 | $1,344,821 | 8.0% | $439,522 |
| Parx | betParx | $13,410,647 | $1,328,993 | 9.9% | $385,217 |
| Hollywood York | PointsBet | $12,610,447 | $821,135 | 6.5% | $59,297 |
| Mount Airy | Fox Bet | $7,718,627 | $441,334 | 5.7% | $121,195 |
| Live Philadelphia | Betway | $6,349,018 | -$375,583 | -5.9% | -$135,210 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | Unibet | $5,724,940 | $442,462 | 7.7% | $92,020 |
| Presque Isle | TwinSpires | $3,857,680 | $227,752 | 5.9% | $73,467 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | Caesars | $3,666,796 | $43,488 | 1.2% | $15,396 |
| South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook | $1,810,587 | $345,995 | 19.1% | $124,558 | |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | $1,687,156 | $93,575 | 5.5% | $33,044 |
| Downs at Lehigh Valley | $1,125,667 | $59,268 | 5.3% | $21,337 | |
| Live Pittsburgh | $992,163 | $101,751 | 10.3% | $36,630 | |
| Parx Malvern | $285,984 | $29,427 | 10.3% | $10,594 | |
| Total | $493,350,519 | $47,828,553 | 9.7% | $12,603,546 |
PA iGaming revenue by operator in May 2022
| Licensee | Total Revenue | Slots | Tables | Poker | Promos | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Penn National | $55,769,727 | $40,464,056 | $15,050,552 | $255,120 | $10,293,833 | $16,623,134 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | $33,156,169 | $29,567,430 | $3,505,438 | $83,300 | $6,208,358 | $11,550,577 |
| Valley Forge | $22,430,606 | $12,766,738 | $9,663,869 | $0 | $1,249,447 | $6,959,345 |
| Mount Airy | $6,968,593 | $4,020,482 | $1,213,442 | $1,734,668 | $1,758,754 | $1,526,952 |
| Parx | $6,361,433 | $5,520,141 | $841,291 | $0 | $2,276,161 | $1,659,277 |
| Live Philadelphia | $3,496,342 | $2,823,837 | $672,506 | $0 | $316,584 | $1,286,010 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | $3,193,092 | $2,038,137 | $416,377 | $738,578 | $334,278 | $970,240 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $2,529,975 | $1,970,481 | $559,495 | $0 | $328,812 | $861,103 |
| Wind Creek | $1,953,255 | $1,843,409 | $109,846 | $0 | $675,512 | $566,487 |
| Presque Isle Downs | $893,613 | $643,679 | $249,934 | $0 | $5,128 | $340,108 |
| Total | $136,752,806 | $101,658,388 | $32,282,751 | $2,811,666 | $23,446,867 | $42,343,233 |
Lead image c/o Katie Kohler.
