The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) recently posted the first full year of collected tax revenues from fantasy sports. In the fiscal year, fantasy sports generated a total of $3.38 million in collected tax revenues. The total revenue for fantasy operators in 12 months was $22.54 million.
DraftKings and FanDuel lead the way
Once again, the industry heavyweights, DraftKings and FanDuel lead the rest of the operators in adjusted revenue. Combining the two operators, they controlled 97.5% of April 2019’s revenue.
From May 2018 to April 2019, DraftKings and FanDuel also dominated the market share with 96.8% of Pennsylvania’s total fantasy sports revenue.
FanDuel pulls ahead of DraftKings for April 2019
For the first time, PGCB reported that FanDuel outpaced DraftKings in entry fees and revenue over a single month. Entry fees for the month of April 2019 were $8.6 million for FanDuel, compared to $7.7 million for DraftKings. Tracked revenue also demonstrated the same gains at $961,867 versus $845,533.
At any rate, it could be that FanDuel is beginning a trend for market dominance here in Pennsylvania. However, it is also possible that April was a one-off event.
DraftKings on outside looking in
As of now, FanDuel is the only daily fantasy sports operator in PA ready to launch an online sportsbook. Recall that in PA, the law requires each casino to have no more than a single skin of online betting.
Although DraftKings was the leader in PA fantasy last year with more than $11 million, it is currently without a sports betting partner. Certainly, this adds more support to our theory that FanDuel is beginning a trend for market dominance in PA.
PA sports betting is still king
Fantasy sports was previously unregulated. However, Pennsylvania operators now have to fork over 15% tax on revenue generated by PA players.
In contrast, sports betting alone has netted the Keystone State almost twice the amount of tax revenue in just half the time. With the impending launch of sports betting apps, we project that sports betting revenue will keep multiplying.
To illustrate, New Jersey retail sports betting netted $4.6 million in April and their online betting revenue netted $16.5 million.
Below, listed in tables, are fantasy contests with adjusted revenue and tax revenue for each PA provider for April 2019 and the preceding 12 months are on display:
| Fantasy Contests Provider | April 2019 Fantasy Contests Adjusted Revenue | April 2019 Fantasy Contests State Tax Due |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $845,553.33 | $126,833.00 |
| FanDuel | $961,867.32 | $144,280.10 |
| DRAFT | $23,348.60 | $3,502.29 |
| Yahoo Fantasy Sports | $15,864.70 | $2,379.71 |
| Sportshub Technologies | $3,627.45 | $544.12 |
| Fantasy Draft | $1,918.83 | $287.82 |
| Boom Fantasy | $371.38 | $55.71 |
| Fantasy Football Players Championship | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Full Time Fantasy Sports | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $1,852,551.61 | $277,882.75 |
| Fantasy Contests Provider | May 2018 – April 2019 Fantasy Contests Adjusted Revenue | May 2018 – April 2019 Fantasy Contests State Tax Due |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $11,549,460 | $1,732,419 |
| FanDuel | $10,274,886 | $1,541,233 |
| DRAFT | $320,105 | $48,016 |
| Fantasy Football Players Championship | $184,932 | $27,740 |
| Sportshub Technologies | $114,812 | $17,221 |
| Fantasy Draft | $41,103 | $6,165 |
| Yahoo Fantasy Sports | $28,128 | $4,219 |
| Full Time Fantasy Sports | $16,095 | $2,414 |
| Boom Fantasy | $12,785 | $1,918 |
| FASTPICK.COM* | $381 | $57 |
| Total | $22,542,688 | $3,381,403 |
*Withdrew as PA operator
