Pennsylvanian sports betting declined in May; however, the state has still reported $5bn in wagering across the fiscal year of 2020-21.
For May, online and retail sportsbooks accepted $447.5m in wagers, a 7% decline from April’s $479.4m. However, the 11 months of the fiscal year show sportsbooks have taken $5.2bn in bets so far.
PlayPennsylvania.com analyst, Valerie Cross, said: “Without a national betting holiday like the Super Bowl or the NCAA Tournament, the summer months are dictated more by local interests.
“Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks are still well-positioned this summer, especially if the Sixers can figure a way past Atlanta, because they are less reliant on college sports than some other major markets.”
Despite the decline in handle, sportsbooks won $37.4m off May’s wagers, an increase of 4% from April. This produced $27.7m in taxable revenue, yielded $9.4m in state taxes and $554,390 in local share assessments.
Betting volume had a year-on-year increase of 477% from May 2020’s $77.5m, a month which was disrupted by pandemic-related restrictions across US sports.
Online betting made up 91% ($407.4m) of May’s handle and gross revenue increased from $13.8m in April to $17.6m.
Meanwhile, in May, online casinos and pokers rooms reported a near-record $110.8m in gross gaming revenue, falling just short of March’s tally of $111.6m.
Wagering on online casino reached $3.3bn in May, up $1.8bn from last year and $3.3bn from April.
Cross added: “Online casino revenue continues to dwarf revenue from sports betting, and that gap should only grow over the summer months.
“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.”
