Handle Down, Revenue Up in Pennsylvania
The state of Pennsylvania has set a new record for sports betting, but it wasn’t the record that was expected to fall. Sportsbooks in the state posted a gross gaming revenue of $63.7 million to shatter the previous record set in November 2020.
The previous record for handle was $37.4 million, set precisely one year ago. Pennsylvania sportsbooks saw a revenue increase of more than 170 percent from October, and the NFL was a big reason for the significant jump.
Other states throughout the U.S. have been setting new records in total sports betting handle, but that wasn’t the case in Pennsylvania. The total handle for the month was $761.6 million, which was slightly lower than the record of $776.3 million in October.
Bettors in Pennsylvania continue to do most of the betting online or through a mobile device despite having plenty of retail options. The mobile handle accounted for more than 92 percent of all bets wagered last month.
The NFL continues to be the most popular sport to wager on in Pennsylvania, but basketball has also brought in a ton of action. November saw the start of college basketball, which helped sportsbooks shatter the revenue record.
FanDuel Sportsbook Leading the Way
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board always provides a breakdown of each sportsbook, and it was FanDuel that led the way yet again. The total online handle for FanDuel Was $238.6 million, and it had a total revenue of $37.4 million.
FanDuel led the state of Pennsylvania in total handle and revenue.The only other sportsbook that can compete with FanDuel is DraftKings, but there was a significant gap between the companies in November. DraftKings posted a total online handle of $214.9 million, and the total revenue for that operator was $16 million.
BetMGM and Barstool are in a tight competition for third place, but they are well behind the sports betting leaders. BetMGM and Barstool combined for an online handle of around $150 million and a total revenue of more than $14 million.
Total Gaming Numbers Decrease
The entire gaming industry saw a significant drop in the numbers in November, which is a troubling trend for Pennsylvania. The gross revenue was still over $82 million, but there was a seven percent drop from the $89.1 million brought in during October.
Online slots continue to be extremely popular with gamblers in Pennsylvania, as the total handle was $1.885 billion. While that is still a high number, it is less than the $1.942 billion that was wagered in October.
The retail slots handle was $2.391 billion in Pennsylvania last month, but that was lower than the $2.613 billion seen in October. November was a shorter month, but the one day did not account for the entire decrease.
