PA Sportsbook Handle Decreases To $646 Million In April, But Up 13% From 2023

Written By Corey Sharp on May 20, 2024
Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper. With the sports calendar slowing down in April, Pennsylvania sportsbooks dipped to $646.1 million in total bets.

With the NFL and March Madness in the rearview, sports betting declined in April in the Keystone State. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported $646.1 million in total bets and $59.1 million in revenue for the state in April.

PA online sportsbook handle decreased 19.3% month-over-month, which was to be expected. However, online sportsbooks experienced a 12.9% year-over-year increase. Despite Pennsylvania being a mature sports betting state, handle keeps improving from year to year.

PlayPennsylvania Managing Editor, Dave Briggs, said:

“As the sports schedule softens as the calendar closes in on summer, we typically see a decline in sports betting in April. The good news is the year-over-year comparison that shows solid increases over April of 2023. That trend shows Pennsylvania’s sports betting sector is still continuing to grow.”

April 2024 numbers for Pennsylvania sports betting

💰 Handle: $646.1 million (19.3% MoM decrease; 12.9% YoY increase)

💸 Revenue: $59.1 million (7.2% MoM decrease; 14.1% YoY decrease) / Adjusted Gross Revenue (taxable): $42.4 million

👐 Hold: 9.1% (up from 8.0% last month)

💻 Percent of bets placed online: 94%

🎁 Promotional credits: $16.3 million

🧾 March sports betting taxes: $15.3 million

🏢 State and local entities: $848,250.22

📱 Top sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook PA with $272.3 million

📱 Top sports betting app by revenue: FanDuel Sportsbook PA with $32.4 million

Quick analysis from April PA sports betting figures

  • Fanatics Sportsbook relinquished a noticeable amount of market share in April. The new operator had a decent start in March, capturing nearly 4% of the the handle. While handle went down in April, which was to be expected, Fanatics’ market share dipped to 3.2%. Fanatics fell just outside the top five in handle in March. In April, it finished a spot lower in seventh.
  • BetRivers Sportsbook PA put together a strong April, and finished in the top five, among handle, for the first time since October 2023. The operator produced $26.7 million in total bets, which was about $300,000 more than Caesars. Through the first two months of 2024, Caesars recorded $71.6 million in handle to BetRivers’ $57.9 million. BetRivers closed the gap in March, finishing $3.3 million behind Caesars, and completed the comeback in April.
  • ESPN BET PA has generated the third-most handle in Pennsylvania in every full month in operation since launching in mid-November. That trend continued in April, while the operator also recorded its best hold percentage of the year at 9.1%.

PA sportsbook handle by operator in April 2024

LicenseeOnline BrandHandleRevenueHoldTaxes
Valley ForgeFanDuel$272,312,469$32,425,45311.9%9,149,534
Hollywood MeadowsDraftKings$168,276,670$14,072,7548.4%$3,538,285
Hollywood Penn NationalESPN BET$41,621,318$3,792,7549.1%$779,794
Hollywood MorgantownBetMGM$39,017,656$2,573,7376.6%$403,522
Rivers PittsburghBetRivers$26,740,722$1,281,8074.8%$277,838
Harrah's PhiladelphiaCaesars$26,136,322801,8483.1%$183,229
Hollywood YorkFanatics$20,487,0321,749,689$8.5%$228,708
Rivers PhiladelphiaPlaySugarHouse$18,711,651(354,117)-1.9%($213,037)
ParxbetParx$16,615,004$1,492,451
9.0%$483,556
Live PhiladelphiaBetway$8,048,112$587,9657.3%$211,668
Mohegan PennsylvaniaUnibet$2,938,446$168,0795.7%$60,508
Wind CreekWind Creek$1,186,096(14,766)
-1.2%($5,316)
South Philadelphia Race & Sportsbook$1,069,284$113,49910.6%$40,860
Live Pittsburgh$956,055$87,2539.1%$31,411
Mohegan Lehigh Valley$886,785$176,60919.9%$63,579
Presque Isle Downs$519,564$66,81412.9%$24,053
Mount AiryFox Bet$484,195$14,3423.0%$5,163
Parx Shippensburg$53,682$14,30226.6%$5,149
Total$646,061,065$59,050,7089.1%$15,268,504
Photo by Matt Slocum / AP Photo
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Corey Sharp

Corey Sharp is the Lead Writer at PlayPennsylvania bringing you comprehensive coverage of sports betting and gambling in Pennsylvania. Corey is a 4-for-4 Philly sports fan and previously worked as a writer and editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

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