Pennsylvania Sportsbooks Fall Off Record Pace With $491M in November, But Still Remain Strong, According to PlayPennsylvania

17/12/2020 12:36

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania's sportsbooks produced their second-best monthly handle ever and set a new revenue mark in November. But November's results missed the state's record set in October, a surprising result considering neighboring New Jersey catapulted to an all-jurisdiction record in the same month, according to PlayPennsylvania analysts.

"So much has worked in favor of Pennsylvania's online sportsbooks this fall, but a lack of NBA, NHL, and college basketball games, along with the struggles of Penn State, an Eagles bye week, and a Steelers game postponed to December, conspired to slow bettors in November," said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayPennsylvania.com. "With record revenue and the second-best handle in state history, it was still a great month for the industry. And I suspect that Pennsylvania will be back to setting record handles again in December."

Pennsylvania's online and retail sportsbooks reached $491.9 million in November, according to official data released Thursday. November's wagers were up 35.7% from $316.5 million in November 2019 but fell short of the $525.8 million record set in October.

Operator revenue reached a record $48.5 million in November, topping $47.8 million in October, and was up 235.8% from $17.5 million in November 2019. November revenue yielded $12.7 million in state taxes.

"November's results show that each state is different in what are unprecedented times, and the relatively high win rate by sportsbooks may have dissuaded some bettors," said Valerie Cross, analyst at PlayPennsylvania.com. "Ultimately, though, record revenues are particularly important for the industry and for the state, which is relying on online gaming revenue more than ever."

Online betting accounted for 91% of the state's handle, up from 89.8% in October. FanDuel Sportsbook/Valley Forge Casino remained the market leader with $176.7 million in online bets, down 2.3% from $181 million wagered in October. DraftKings/The Meadows was second ($109.9 million), ahead of Barstool/Hollywood Casino ($55.7 million).

"The Barstool app has been successful in shaking up the market, becoming the first online operator to legitimately challenge the stranglehold that FanDuel and DraftKings have had on Pennsylvania's market," Gouker said. "What the Penn National/Barstool partnership has done has not only altered the Keystone State, but it has served notice in other jurisdictions that it is indeed a force to be reckoned with."

Retail sportsbooks hit $44.5 million in bets in November, down from $53.5 million in October. Sportsbooks won $6.2 million on those bets.

Online casinos and poker

Online casinos and poker rooms continued their hot streak, hitting another high in November with $59.77 million in gross operator revenue, or $2 million per day, over the 30 days of November. That was up from the record $59.76 million, or $1.9 million per day, produced over the 31 days of October.

Revenue produced $16.2 million in state taxes and another $3.2 million in local share assessments from November's revenue.

"Online casinos have become one of Pennsylvania's most reliable revenue streams," Cross said. "As winter takes hold and retail casinos closed, the best months for online casinos are almost assuredly yet to come."

Online table games and slots generated $57.4 million in revenue on $2.3 billion in bets, which is up from $2.2 billion in bets in October. Rivers-Philadelphia, which includes PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers casinos, topped the online casino market with $16.6 million in revenue.

For more, www.playpennsylvania.com/news.

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