Pennsylvania’s Turn to Post May Sports Betting Figures

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Sports betting numbers from participating US legal jurisdictions have been coming in fast and furious. While usually by now there is a good sense of where the overall US scene sits, an inconsistent May has analysts and observers of the industry wondering if the typical summer sports betting slowdown will be real, or if there are mitigating factors out there limiting what should be a tangible drop in betting activity across the country.

Pennsylvania, one of the newly minted Heavyweight betting states released their May figures Thursday and they supported states like Michigan that also reported a decline in their handle. Just a day before, another major player in the broader industry, New Jersey, joined Indiana on the list of states that revealed an increase in wagering activity over the 31-day period.

Pennsylvania’s Mixed Bag May

Pennsylvania sportsbooks predictably reported a slight drop in its overall legal sports betting handle in May. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board identified $447.5 million in bets taken in from the state’s retail and mobile sportsbooks over the month – a 6.7% drop from the $479.4 million in April.

The record for Pennsylvania sportsbooks came in January when bettors in the state coughed up $615.3 million.

Like a few other states that reported before Pennsylvania, there was a disparity between handle and revenues. It seems to be a pattern in the May figures released that when a handle increases, revenues decrease and vice versa.

The same held true in Pennsylvania. Despite a drop in handle, sportsbook revenues actually increased month-to-month. Gross sports wagering revenue in the state rose 5.5% from $26.3 million in April to $27.7 million in May. Revenues benefitted from an 8.4% hold rate for Pennsylvania sportsbooks.

An estimated $10 million in taxes was paid by Pennsylvania sportsbooks to state and local coffers.

Mobile and Year-Over-Year Numbers

Mobile betting apps were responsible for 91% of all bets taken in during May in Pennsylvania or $407.4 million of the $447.5 million total. It’s a slight 6.7% drop from the April’s $479.4 million.

Pennsylvania was able to give us a glimpse into the year-over-year spikes in their legal sports betting industry. Looking back, the US legal sports betting scene has come a long way in one year. May 2020 however was a time the global economy and sports organizations were decimated by COVID-19.

The Pennsylvania sports betting handle spiked 477.3% year-over-year from $77.5 million in May 2020 to $447.4 million in May 2021. Revenues jumped 474.6% from $4.8 million last May to $27.7 million last month. The mobile scene jumped 477.3% from May 2020’s $77.5 million.

Online Casinos

Online casinos in Pennsylvania continue to raise a few eyebrows and have become what one analyst has called the “state’s most dependable gaming revenue generator.” The online casino platform generated an incredible $110.8 million in gross gaming revenues in May, just short of the record $111.6 million from March.

The casino gaming handle came in at an astounding $3.3 billion in May, leading to $41.7 million in tax contribution to the state and local programs.

“Online casino revenue continues to dwarf revenue from sports betting, and that gap should only grow over the summer months,” said Valerie Cross, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “Even as customers return to brick-and-mortar casinos, the gains in revenue at online casinos and poker rooms made over the last year should hold. It has become a revenue-generating powerhouse for the gaming industry and for the state.”

The Future

The Pennsylvania legal sports betting industry, despite an anticipated dip in overall handle during May remains strong and is expected to remain so as we creep closer to the start of the NFL season.

“The seasonal slowdown will continue to be a factor until bettors can place bets on Eagles, Steelers, and Penn State football games,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylania.com.

He went on to say that: “The retail market is returning to relative health. What we’re really seeing in Pennsylvania, as well as other markets, is normalization. Nothing could be more welcome after such a difficult year.”

June takes us to the end of Pennsylvania’s fiscal year – their total year-long sports betting numbers will come into focus them. After May, the total stands at $5 billion. All eyes will be on those June figures to see just where the Pennsylvania market stands in relation to all others within the broader US legal sports betting scene.