Pennsylvania sportsbooks took in $858.1 million in total bets during October, an all-time high for the month. A hold rate of 6.8%, however, tempered excitement for operators.
Last month, sports betting in the Keystone State increased 3.5% year-over-year and 5.8% month-over-month.
With the low hold, sportsbooks saw their revenue drop nearly 40% from the previous month and 21% from last October.
Sportsbooks in other states also had low October holds
With football season in full swing, Pennsylvania sports betting remains vibrant. In October, sportsbooks generated $58.1 million in revenue, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
The first two months of the football season have been nearly polar opposite, in terms of revenue and hold percentage. In September, PA sportsbooks produced $95.8 million in revenue due to an 11.8% hold.
Despite operators taking in more bets in October, revenue plummeted by $37.7 million because of the 6.8% hold.
Pennsylvania wasn’t the only state with a low hold percentage last month. New Jersey and Michigan, for example, reported holds of 5.9% and 5.5%, respectively, in October.
Pennsylvania October sports betting at a glance
- Handle: $858.1 million (5.8% MoM increase; 3.5% YoY increase)
- Revenue: $58.1 million (39.4% MoM decrease; 21.1% YoY decrease)
- Adjusted Gross Revenue (taxable): $27.3 million
- Hold: 6.8% (down from from 11.8% last month)
- Percent of bets placed online: 94.6%
- Promotional credits: $30.8 million
- October sports betting tax revenue: $9.3 million
- State and local entities tax revenue: $547,461
- Top sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook PA with $348.6million
- Top sports betting app by revenue: FanDuel with $28.1million
PA sportsbook handle by operator in October
| Licensee | Online Brand | Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge | FanDuel | $348,632,932 | $28,120,460 | 8.1% | $6,229,775 |
| Hollywood Meadows | DraftKings | $224,956,185 | $13,819,584 | 6.1% | $2,107,769 |
| Hollywood Morgantown | BetMGM | $63,817,981 | $3,507,228 | 5.5% | $259,889 |
| Hollywood York | Fanatics | $40,287,995 | $3,155,159 | 7.8% | $145,865 |
| Hollywood Penn National | ESPN BET | $39,545,197 | $1,613,268 | 4.1% | $341,332 |
| Presque Isle Downs | bet365 | $33,502,878 | $2,348,647 | 7.0% | (-$774,441) |
| Rivers Pittsburgh | BetRivers | $33,172,526 | $1,493,686 | 4.5% | $360,350 |
| Harrah's Philadelphia | Caesars | $26,675,867 | $1,401,371 | 5.3% | $346,318 |
| Parx | betParx | $20,243,205 | $1,076,661 | 5.3% | $319,770 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | PlaySugarHouse | $14,545,318 | $670,102 | 4.6% | $184,201 |
| Live Philadelphia | Betway | $7,009,708 | $576,904 | 8.2% | $207,685 |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | $1,376,866 | $41,212 | 3.0% | $14,836 |
| Mohegan Pennsylvania | $1,255,416 | $119,904 | 9.6% | $43,166 | |
| Live Pittsburgh | $1,188,336 | $52,381 | 4.4% | $18,857 | |
| Mohegan Lehigh Valley | $1,169,801 | $95,139 | 8.1% | $34,250 | |
| Mount Airy | $719,684 | $35,853 | 5.0% | $12,907 | |
| Parx Shippensburg | $49,101 | $4,903 | 10.0% | $1,765 | |
| Total | $858,148,996 | $58,132,462 | 6.8% | $9,854,294 |
All eyes on ESPN BET market share
This football season could be a make-or-break period for ESPN BET in Pennsylvania. The sportsbook has been the subject of sale rumors over the summer because of poor performance.
It appears, however, that ESPN BET is showing some life. After declining in market share in almost every month since launching last November, the platform improved to 4.6% in October, compared to 4.1% in September.
While one month of improvement isn’t going to silence critics, ESPN Bet operator PENN Entertainment and investors can take solace in a slight growth.
Fanatics maintains top-5 spot
For the second straight month, Fanatics Sportsbook PA finished in the top five of handle and revenue.
It’s a tall order for Fanatics to compete with FanDuel and DraftKings. However, the operator is proving itself worthy amongst the second tier of sportsbooks.
BetMGM has a strong hold of the third spot in Pennsylvania, finishing with more than $23 million handle ahead of Fanatics. The four-through-seven positions are nearly in lockstep with each other:
- Fanatics: $40.3 million
- ESPN BET: $39.5 million
- Bet365: $33.5 million
- BetRivers: $33.2 million
