October was a record-breaking month for sports betting in Pennsylvania. That’s because, for the first time ever, Pennsylvania bettors placed wagers exceeding $800 million.
In fact, the state’s sportsbooks set a new record with a total of over $829 million in bets, which is a 14% increase from September and about 4% higher than the same month last year. This surpasses the previous record set in October 2022 by almost $32 million.
High Season in Full Swing
PlayPennsylvania Managing Editor, Chris Imperiale, attributed the big month to the popularity of football, the start of the basketball season, and October baseball, “Pennsylvania sports betting continued to feel the effects of the NFL and football betting in October. While it’s considered a mature market, there is still room for growth. It’s likely the Philadelphia Phillies’ postseason run contributed to the massive October, which means November could see a slight downturn even with lots of football remaining,” he said.
Bookmakers in Pennsylvania did well with bets on the Philadelphia Phillies, who lost in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series. The Phillies initially led 2-0 but lost the next two games in Arizona. Despite winning game five and returning to Citizens Bank Park with a 3-2 lead, they ultimately lost the final two games at home, bringing an end to their season.
The Phillies losing the series in seven games turned out to be a big win for sportsbooks.
Sports Betting Apps Perform Well
FanDuel Sportsbook PA and DraftKings Sportsbook PA were the top two operators in terms of revenue. Despite FanDuel Sportsbook PA posting impressive numbers in total bets, DraftKings Sportsbook PA wasn’t far behind in revenue. DraftKings, with just $1 million less in revenue, boasted a nearly 11% hold percentage compared to FanDuel’s, which came in at just under 9%.
Survey results indicate that DraftKings has the best product in the market, and with the introduction of Progressive Parlays, a feature paying out money if multiple legs of a parlay miss, it could attract even more customers.
Other Operators
Caesars Sportsbook PA had a solid month in terms of total bets, ranking fourth among operators. However, the platform had a modest 0.7% hold percentage, resulting in just $297,039 in revenue. Caesars aims to rebound in the next two months with more football activity.
Barstool Sportsbook PA performed well, generating more than $32 million in October (handle), securing the sixth spot in the state. October marked the last full month of the app’s operation before PENN Entertainment transitioned to ESPN Bet PA as its new sports betting partner. The true performance of ESPN Bet PA will become clearer when December revenue figures are released, reflecting a full month of the operator being fully functional.
Wagering at Retail Sportsbooks Increased
Retail betting in Pennsylvania, whether at casinos or off-track betting parlors, constitutes only 3% of the total legal wagering activity in the state. In October, the amount reached nearly $56 million, showing a $2.4 million increase compared to the previous month.
Revenue generated from in-person betting by operators totaled a little more than $5 million. Leading the pack are Rivers Philadelphia at $8.9 million, Live! Philadelphia at $8.7 million, Parx at $8.1 million, and Rivers Pittsburgh at $5.1 million.
November is Expected to Be Strong as Well
Although baseball is over and the numbers could go down slightly, the strong October could be parlayed into an equally strong November. The NFL will start hitting the stretch run to the playoffs with the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers in contention. The Eagles are also one of the favorites to get to the Super Bowl.
On top of that, the NBA is back, so a lot of action is expected to be on the Philadelphia 76ers.
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