Pennsylvania sees a minor decrease in sports betting for May
iCasino gaming held firm in the state, but it could not offset a 5% decrease in retail casino revenue.
Pennsylvania sports betting has held steady in May, with revenue numbers dropping marginally below that of April’s figures. A report from the Pennsylvania gaming board showed that there had been an increase in iCasino revenue but not enough to offset a bigger dip in retail casino play.
Overall, commercial gaming generated $447.8m in revenue, down from $461.6m in April; however, this was still an increase of 8.4% from what was reported in May 2021. Meanwhile, the sports betting handle showed a drop from $572.8m in April to $493.4m in May.
These numbers won’t ring alarm bells within the Pennsylvania gaming industry, which still takes a gross revenue of $47.8m, of which taxable revenue stands at $35m.
It is not uncommon for sports betting volume to decline during the spring and summer months following the busy sports schedules of the fall and winter. Experts predict that the May numbers will not be exceeded until football season kicks off again this September.
Four online sports bettors – FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Barstool sportsbooks – made up 85% of all online betting in Pennsylvania. Although they all saw less customer activity in May, they retained a 9.7% hold (percentage retained from gamblers in gross winnings); higher than the monthly US average.
Of the four big sportsbooks in Pennsylvania, FanDuel came out on top, with a total of $191.7m in bets last month garnering a gross revenue of $25.1m, a number that far surpassed any of its rivals. It claims a 42% stranglehold on online statewide betting handle.
While online casinos performed stably, brick-and-mortar casinos have fared less well, with a 5% decrease from April to May’s total revenue. The 16 Pennsylvanian casinos generated $294.2m which was still far higher than May 2021’s performance of $278.6m (although these numbers were heavily affected by the pandemic). Likely, Covid concerns are still having a detrimental effect on retail casinos in Pennsylvania and across the US in general.
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