The first month of the NFL season was expected to provide the PA sports betting industry a shot in the arm — and it delivered. During September, revenue from sports betting more than doubled with the state’s casinos generating $14,924,872 on the month, more than double the $6,115,106 figure from August.
Almost all of the increase can be attributed to the start of the NFL season, and perhaps word getting out about Pennsylvania’s new sports betting industry. There was only one new online sportsbook that launched since August. FoxBet, the rebranded BetStars and partner of Mount Airy went live with their online sportsbook in early September but failed to make much of an impact. The sportsbook only generated $4.9 million in bets and $231,536 in online revenue.
Behind the numbers
The FanDuel Valley Forge sportsbook led all PA sportsbooks during September with a strong showing. The sportsbook accepted over $88 million in sports bets during the month, more than twice that of PlaySugarHouse, which accepted nearly $38 million in wagers. The Rivers Casino was third with $31 million — earned through BetRivers — while Parx Online was around $21 million.
FanDuel was also the biggest online sportsbook of the month, generating $4.7 million in revenue for the month, ahead of the PlaySugarHouse PA with $1.8 million, followed by Parx at $1.3 million abd Rivers Casino at $1.1 million.
| PA Casino | Total Wagers | Land-Based Revenue | Online Sportsbook Revenue | Online Sportsbook Vs LandBased | Total Sportsbook Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge Casino Resort | $88,546,350 | $376,243 | $4,736,979 | 93% | $5,113,222 |
| SugarHouse Casino | $37,718,490 | $1,057,865 | $1,842,228 | 64% | $2,900,092 |
| Parx Casino | $21,095,923 | $1,073,205 | $1,323,248 | 55% | $2,396,453 |
| Rivers Casino | $30,807,702 | $957,791 | $1,135,528 | 54% | $2,093,319 |
| Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course | $3,286,460 | $590,006 | - | - | $590,006 |
| Presque Isle Downs Casino | $2,184,693 | $495,548 | - | - | $495,548 |
| South Philadelphia Race and Sportsbook | $2,316,720 | $490,153 | - | - | $490,153 |
| Harrah’s Philadelphia | $2,189,454 | $347,873 | - | - | $347,873 |
| Mount Airy Casino Resort | $4,901,840 | $45,658 | $231,536 | 84% | $277,194 |
| Oaks Race and Sportsbook | $1,162,267 | $146,041 | - | - | $146,041 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $294,723 | $74,970 | - | - | $74,970 |
| Statewide Total | $194,504,622 | $5,655,352 | $9,269,519 | 62% | $14,924,872 |
Online sports betting a big part of the PA sportsbook pie
PA Online sports betting continued to be the big winner in the state with over $9 million in revenue generated online compared to $5.6 million earned collectively through retail sportsbooks. The number represents 62% of all sports betting revenue generated by PA casinos, a figure which is likely to further increase.
FanDuel/Valley Forge’s huge online sports betting month meant that 93% of all revenue generated by the sportsbook was from online wagers. Most other PA online sportsbooks were between 54% and 64%. Despite a slow month from FoxBet, the online sportsbook bucked the trend with 84% of all revenue from online sources.