Pennsylvania sportsbooks took $750.4 million in bets in December, the third-highest ever monthly handle. It was a “better” month for sports bettors after sportsbooks won a record-breaking amount in November (about $85 million).
According to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, revenue for PA sportsbooks in December was about $38 million.
December 2021 numbers for sports betting in PA
- Handle: $750.4 million
- Revenue: $38 million
- Hold: 5% (down from 11.2% last month)
- Percent of bets placed online: 92%
- Promotional credits: $19.1 million
- Month-over-month: Handle decreased 1.5%; revenue decreased 55.3%
- Year-over-year: Handle jumped 36.7%; revenue decreased 16.3%
- December sports betting taxes: $6.4 million to the state and an additional $376,355 million to local entities.
- Top sports betting app by handle: FanDuel Sportsbook with $246.8 million
- Top sports betting app by revenue: FanDuel Sportsbook ($13.7 million)
PA sports betting handle & revenue by operator December 2021
| Licensee | Online Brand | Total Handle | Total Revenue | Online Handle | Online Revenue | Retail Handle | Retail Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge | FanDuel | $249,754,200 | $13,984,990 | $246,808,375 | $13,722,683 | $2,945,825 | $262,307 |
| Meadows | DraftKings | $206,413,971 | $8,186,903 | $204,716,271 | $8,113,223 | $1,697,700 | $73,681 |
| Hollywood Morgantown | BetMGM | $83,708,825 | $5,281,203 | $83,546,032 | $5,208,561 | $162,793 | $72,642 |
| Hollywood Penn National | Barstool | $63,074,853 | $4,152,494 | $61,401,883 | $3,940,813 | $1,672,969 | $211,681 |
| Rivers Pittsburgh | BetRivers | $37,598,873 | $2,110,091 | $27,583,596 | $1,713,629 | $10,015,276 | $396,463 |
| Rivers Philadelphia | SugarHouse | $26,365,741 | $738,921 | $17,535,922 | $374,348 | $8,829,819 | $364,573 |
| Parx | Parx | $25,414,722 | $799,436 | $16,907,451 | $429,323 | $8,507,271 | $370,113 |
| Mount Airy | Fox Bet | $15,988,916 | $746,163 | $15,204,913 | $788,144 | $784,003 | -$41,981 |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | Unibet | $10,180,548 | $435,225 | $8,160,787 | $378,627 | $2,019,761 | $56,597 |
| Presque Isle | TwinSpires | $8,907,776 | $720,144 | $4,579,519 | $302,147 | $4,328,257 | $417,997 |
| Live Philadelphia | Betway | $7,477,648 | $308,855 | $1,916,921 | $127,912 | $5,560,727 | $180,943 |
| South Philly OTB | $2,320,006 | $95,175 | $0 | $0 | $2,320,006 | $95,175 | |
| Wind Creek | Wind Creek | $2,071,555 | $90,861 | $804,942 | $7,575 | $1,266,613 | $83,286 |
| Lehigh OTB | $1,380,064 | $132,849 | $0 | $0 | $1,380,064 | $132,849 | |
| Live Pittsburgh | $1,025,774 | $107,588 | $0 | $0 | $1,025,774 | $107,588 | |
| Oaks OTB | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| SugarHouse | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Harrah’s Philadelphia | Caesars | $6,832,219 | $93,646 | $4,103,559 | $89,988 | $2,728,660 | $3,658 |
| Hollywood York | $1,873,007 | -$31,070 | $0 | $0 | $1,873,007 | -$31,070 | |
| Total | $750,388,696 | $37,953,474 | $693,270,171 | $35,196,971 | $57,118,525 | $2,756,503 |
Four takeaways from PA sports betting in December 2021
Football rules
October, November and December represented the “red zone” for PA sportsbooks. No surprises there as it’s always been the case with plenty of NFL and college football action.
- October: $776 million handle/$42.3 million revenue
- November: $761 million handle/$85 million revenue
- December: $750.4 million handle/$38 million revenue
Big games – college football playoffs and NFL playoffs – should produce a hefty handle in January.
FanDuel top app in PA market
FanDuel continues to hold its spot as the top sports betting app in Pennsylvania. They led all online sportsbooks for handle ($246.8 million) and revenue ($13.7 million). FanDuel was the only sportsbook with a notable month-over-month increase in handle and continues to hold a considerable amount of market share of bets placed online in PA (35.6%). Since arriving in the summer of 2019, FanDuel has climbed to the top, held the lead and its share. How long can it last?
DraftKings is the clear No. 2 online sports betting app in PA with $206.4 million in handle and $8.1 million in revenue.
Bounce back, then step back for Barstool PA sportsbook
Barstool online sportsbook‘s revenue ($118,849) was one of the lowest in October. They bounced back big in November (along with others) and regained the No. 3 spot in PA.
But in December, Barstool PA sports betting app saw handle fall from $74.3 million to $61.4 million. Revenue dropped from about $8 million to $3.9 million. BetMGM took back the No.3 spot with $83.5 million in handle and $5.2 million in revenue.
Caesars Sportsbook at the bottom in PA
Caesars PA sports betting app took .6% (that’s less than one-percent) of all online bets placed in PA in December. Revenue in October, November and December did not pass $100,000 in any month. For a brand like Caesars, that’s head-scratching.
The new version of the Caesars sportsbook has yet to arrive in PA. However, PA isn’t the only state where Caesars is having issues. During the New York launch, many complained about technical troubles with Caesars’ sportsbook app.
When asked about Caesars crashing during opening weekend, Sen. Joe Addabbo told PlayNY:
“This is such a competitive market. And you’re such a player. Get your act together.”
The same can be said of Caesars in Pennsylvania.
Analysis of December sports betting numbers
What a year. The growth of the Pennsylvania sports betting industry has been absolutely incredible.
In 2021, sports bettors in PA placed $6.5 billion in sports wagers. Pennsylvania collected a U.S.-best $122.5 million in tax revenue from sports betting.
Pennsylvania will not ever be the state with the highest monthly handle for sports betting, but it’s a far cry from the “rolling dumpster fire” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called it.
After a record-setting November, Pennsylvania, like other states with legalized sports betting, had an expected drop in revenue in December.
What’s ahead for 2022?
Online sports betting went live in New York on Jan. 8. During the opening weekend, the state took a whopping $150 million in bets. Online sports betting in New York will impact New Jersey much more than it will PA.
New Jersey reported $1.2 billion in handle, marking their fourth-straight month with $1 billion-plus handle. Are their days in the “one billion club” over now that New Yorkers can bet on their phones? Probably. But, we won’t know until official numbers come out in January and February.
Geocomply, which supplies geolocation data to sportsbooks, gave insight to where bettors are coming from. Only 1.1% of New York bettors are from PA. So, it appears that not much of PA handle will be poached from NY.
Press release: Pennsylvania Sports Betting Handle Remains Near Highs With $750 Million in December
Contact: Zack Hall, Catena Media, [email protected]
Lead image of Barstool Sportsbook in Morgantown by Katie Kohler
