Pennsylvania’s sports betting handle accepted $761.6 million for November. When comparing the numbers last month, it is down 1.9 percent from October’s $776.3 million, but up 54.8 percent year-to-date as November 2020s amount hits $491.9 million.
Pennsylvania’s Sports Betting Revenue Hit an All-Time High
Pennsylvania couldn’t reach October’s sports handle as it factored in an extra weekend of college football and the NFL. However, sportsbook operators across the state benefited from players’ losses. The saying that The-house-always-wins was on full display in November.
Pennsylvania is home to thirteen online sportsbooks and sixteen retail sportsbooks. Mobile sports betting accumulated 92.4 percent of the handle for the month. Mobile sportsbooks accepted 704.1 million, a decline of 1.4 percent from October’s mobile handle of $714 million.
However, the online handle was 57.4 percent higher than November 2020’s mobile handle that hit $447.4 million. According to the monthly revenues released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, sportsbooks benefited from bettors losing despite the average betting volume going down for the month.
The state posted revenue of $63.7 million, up 170.6 percent from October’s figures that topped $23.5 million. The taxable revenue was $63.7 million, but the gross revenue earnings brought in $84.9 million. November 2020’s revenue numbers were the previous record set at $37.4. November’s 2021 revenue numbers showed an increase of s 70.5 percent.
Comparing the Gaming Numbers for Pennsylvania
Casino gaming numbers were down for the month as the table games gross revenue numbers were slated at 82.9 million. It decreased 6.9 percent from October’s figures that hit $89.1 million.
Pennsylvania’s interactive slot handle hit $1.885 billion, which decreased 2.9 percent from October’s $1.942 billion. Interactive slots’ gross revenue was $63.5 million, which showed a decrease of 10.2 percent from October’s figures that hit the $70.7 million mark. This also affected the retail gaming numbers for the numerous gaming facilities across the state.
The retail slots handle was $2.391 billion, which was 8.5 percent lower compared to October’s figures that hit $2.613 billion. Retail slots’ gross terminal revenue came in at $185.5 million, a decrease of 8.8 percent from October’s $203.3 million.
Interactive banking tables accumulated $1.896 billion portraying a decrease of 10.4 percent from $2.116 billion. The gross revenue in this category hit $27.7 million, which was down 5.7 percent from October’s figures that showed $29.3 million.
Sports bettors couldn’t capitalize against the sportsbooks as there were quite a few upsets, especially in the NFL. Also, a new feature known as same-game-parlays allows bettors to win a large sum of money but ultimately gives sportsbooks the edge for the majority of the parlays placed.
The sportsbooks that benefited from the increase in revenue were FanDuel and DraftKings. FanDuel’s $238.6 million was down 11.9 percent from October. However, they posted an impressive gross revenue of $37.1 million. The company also made up 33.9 percent of the online betting market share.
DraftKings remains the second most popular sportsbook in the state but was able to close the gap with their rival. DraftKings’ handle showed $215 million, which made up 30.5 percent of the online market. The company reported gross revenue of $15.8 million.
The two companies that rounded out the top four were BetMGM and Barstool Sportsbook. The month may have not favored the bettors across the state in November; however, the sports schedule looks promising in 2022 despite the pandemic canceling a few games.
College basketball season starting in November has given bettors another option to bet daily on top of the NBA, NHL, NFL, and college football.