Pennsylvania sports betting revenue and overall gaming industry revenue in the state took a hit in April, falling to $476.6 million after a sizzling March in which revenues soared to over $515 million.
March Madness Hangover
April’s gaming numbers throughout the nation are historically less than the previous month, in which March Madness propels sports betting revenue to lofty heights, sparking an ancillary effect on retail and casino gambling.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board revealed that gaming revenue from all sectors in April topped $476.6 million, down from the record-breaking $515.3 million in March, a 7.5% decrease. However, the flip side is that the total revenue increased by 3.35% from the previous April.
Broken down, land-based casino gambling, including slots and table games, showed a 4.5% decline to $297.4 million while online casino gaming took in $137.2 million, off 7.4%, and taxable sports betting revenue earned $37 million but down a whopping 26.7% from March.
Naturally, the men’s national basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, generated a considerable amount of sports betting revenue in the previous month and was absent in April except for the national championship game earlier in the month.
State and local governments reaped $195.7 million in taxable revenue which continues Pennsylvania’s torrid pace for a record-breaking year. Gambling revenue is taxed at different rates but the average, when factoring in revenues from the various sectors, is approximately 41%, the highest in the nation.
FanDuel Leads the Pack
The sports betting handle in Pennsylvania plunged 20.9% from March to $572.2 million in April but it was nearly identical to last April’s $572.8 million handle. The gross revenue was $51.8 million but when adjusting for the $14.8 million in promotional credits, the taxable revenue settled at $37 million.
FanDuel blazed the revenue trail by topping its 12 other online competitors with 41.7% of the volume or $27.9 million in gross revenue and $21.2 million in taxable revenue from its $223.5 million in total wagers accepted.
DraftKings was once again a bridesmaid with 29.1% of the Pennsylvania market reflected by $11.1 million in gross revenue, of which $8.9 million was taxable after adjusting for promotional credits.
BetMGM took home the bronze medal with a handle of $43 million, generating $3.9 million in gross revenue or approximately $1 million in adjusted revenue.
Sportsbooks’ Losses and Market Exits
Two online and two retail sportsbooks showed losses in April and they were Wind Creek/Betfred which showed a -$58,155 loss and Betway posted a -$10,400 hit. The pair of retail sportsbooks were Rivers Philadelphia (-$139,125) and Mohegan Pennsylvania (-$6,894).
PointsBet will be terminating its operations in the Keystone State as they are in the process of being acquired by Fanatics which will assume its license and website but with its own branding later this year.
The April tally for the Australian bookmaker shows it captured a mere 1.5% of the market share with 8 million in bets producing a gross revenue of $637,562 and an adjusted revenue of only $22,091 after deductions for marketing promotions.