Pennsylvania Sets New Sports Betting Handle Record
Pennsylvania set a new state sports betting handle record for FY 23-24, as state users wagered more than $8.1 billion during the fiscal year.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board released its annual report for all types of gaming in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The $8.1 billion in sports betting handle was a 13% increase from the previous year, the highest amount bet in the state’s sixth year of legalized sports betting.
Despite the tremendous amount of handle in Pennsylvania, the state saw a decrease in sports betting tax revenue during the fiscal year.
Pennsylvania Sports Betting Activity Remains High
Pennsylvania sports betting customers wagered a record amount during the fiscal year, but were more successful with their bets compared to the previous year. The taxable revenue from sports wagering reached $486 million, which produced a slight decrease of 1% compared with the previous year.
In total, the state reported $175,163,915 in sports betting tax revenue. The state taxes sports betting at a 36% rate, one of the highest sports betting tax rates in the country.
Online sports betting dominated all categories in the state, with Pennsylvania users betting more than $7.6 billion through licensed sports betting operators compared with just $495.5 million bet in retail sportsbooks. Online sports betting produced $448.5 million in taxable revenue in the fiscal year compared with just $38.01 million in retail sports betting revenue.
During the year, however, the number of sports betting options decreased in the state by three. One off-track betting facility, Parx Malvern, and two online sports betting operations, FoxBet and Unibet, all ceased operations in Pennsylvania. Additionally, Hollywood Casino York switched its online sports betting operator partnership from PointsBet to Fanatics.
As Pennsylvania operates in the new fiscal year, the state has a total of 18 retail sports betting locations and 11 online sports betting operator options for customers.
While the sports betting market in Pennsylvania saw record setting handle totals, but a decrease in profit, the state’s iGaming market continues to thrive.
iGaming Tax Revenues Up in FY 23-24
The Pennsylvania online casino market continues to grow year over year, as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported that iGaming revenue reached $1.9 billion for the fiscal year, which led to $841 million in tax revenue. Tax revenues increased by 27% over the previous fiscal year.
iSlots dominated the Pennsylvania online casino market, culminating in nearly $1.4 billion in taxable revenue. The iSlot market saw a 30% increase in taxable revenues over the previous fiscal year. Slots are taxed at a rate of 34%, which led to more than $474,000 in tax revenue for the fiscal year.
Table games reported $525 million in taxable revenue, a 23% increase over the previous fiscal year. This led to $73.5 million in tax revenue for the state. The only iGaming market that saw a decrease in the fiscal year was poker, which led to $28 million in taxable revenue for the year, a 9% decrease.
Over the course of the year, Pennsylvania’s iGaming market saw six new sites launch. The commission reported that Caesars Palace opened in August under the Harrah’ Philadelphia iGaming Certificate; Golden Nugget Casino also opened in August and is operated by Golden Nugget; ESPNBet in November and Fanatics in January, both operating under the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course iGaming certificate; JackPot City in December operating under the Live! Casino Philadelphia iGaming certificate; and Mohegan Digital in April under the Mohegan Pennsylvania iGaming certificate.
The state had 22 total iGaming sites live in FY 23-24. However, at the conclusion of the fiscal year, Presque Isle Racetrack and Casino added a new online interactive site for iSlots and table games.