During the first half of the 2019-2020 financial year, sports bettors in Pennsylvania placed a combined $1.26 billion in legal wagers.
How popular was online sports betting compared to offline?
The time period ran from June 30th-December 31st. In these six months, operators generated a total of $91.4 million in revenue – $69.2m of which came from the internet. Meanwhile, online operators handled a total of $1bn in player bets.
Pennsylvania legalised sports betting in December 2018 and land-based outlets went live soon after. However, online sportsbooks only began to launch from May 2019 onwards.
But despite going live seven months earlier, retail sports betting figures were small in comparison. It was worth just over $22m during this time period, with players spending $260m.
In 2019, 70% of sports betting handle in the Keystone State came through desktop and mobile gambling. For the month of December alone, that percentage was 86%. This suggests that by the end of 2020, we could see further shifts away from offline.
How well did casinos do in Pennsylvania?
Pretty well, to summarise things quickly. During the final six months of 2019, operators made $33.6m while players spent $612.9m altogether. Of the final revenue figures, $20.9m was brought in from interactive slots alone.
A whopping $14.9bn was deposited in land-based slots machines during this time period, with revenue for this reaching $1.16bn. Retail table games were also profitable, with $449.8m of the state’s gambling income coming from this.
Along with the introduction of online sports betting last year, video gaming terminals (VGTs) were introduced in September. Players placed $24.4m on these after they were brought in, with $2.3m being kept by the operators.
What was the overall success of Pennsylvanian iGaming in the first half of FY 2019-2020?
All-in-all, iGaming brought in $3.41bn for operators during the 2019 calendar year. Due to the 36% tax rate for brands here, the state will receive a decent-sized portion of this. The full figure represents a 4.5% year-on-year increase for the industry, compared to 2018.
As might be expected from a newly-launched market, player promotions were abundant. According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), $26.6m was distributed in terms of promotional credits.
