Pennsylvania sportsbooks saw a significant boost to handle and revenue in June thanks to online betting.
According to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), $46.3m was wagered on sports in the month of June. This was a significant increase from the $35.9m wagered in May.
June marked the first full month of online betting in the Keystone State. A total of $19.3m was wagered using online and mobile sportsbooks, accounting for 41% of the state’s total betting handle.
Bookies in the state managed to generate $3.1m in revenue, up from $2.8m the month prior.
Looking closer at the figures
SugarHouse Casino was the highest performing sportsbook operator for the month of June. The casino’s sportsbook operation took $23.3m in wagers and generated over $1.7m in revenue.
SugarHouse managed to take the lead in Pennsylvania thanks to its online sportsbook which launched in May. In June, over $18.1m was wagered online generating $1.3m in revenue for SugarHouse.
Rivers was the second most popular sportsbook amongst Pennsylvania bettors last month, taking $7m in bets and holding onto $328,431 in revenue. The operator also launched its online sportsbook towards the end of June. Over $848,520 was wagered through Rivers’ online sportsbook, generating $81,122 in revenue.
Parx Casino had the third most popular sportsbook operation, taking $5.4m in bets and generating $413,851 in revenue. Parx also launched its online sportsbook in June. Out of the operator’s total handle, $307,011 was wagered online generating $46,645 in revenue.
Online betting in PA
At the time of writing, there are only three online sports betting options available to Pennsylvania bettors.
With more operators expected to launch online operations in Pennsylvania in the coming months the state’s sports betting industry may finally realize its true potential.
However, mobile betting apps are currently only accessible via Android devices. In June, Apple updated its App Store policy tightening the restrictions on real-money gambling apps.
According to guideline 4.7. “HTML 5 games distributed in apps may not provide access to real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations, and may not support digital commerce. This functionality is only appropriate for code that’s embedded in the binary and can be reviewed by Apple. This guideline is now enforced for new apps. Existing apps must follow this guideline by September 3, 2019.”
This means that gambling apps on the Apple App Store must be reformatted and will require approval from Apple. Apple has yet to approve any sports betting apps. This, in turn, could slow down the growth of Pennsylvania’s online sports betting industry.
For an in-depth look at each state’s sports betting statistics visit the BettingUS stats page.
