Rivers, Sugarhouse, Parx Lead Pennsylvania Sports Betting Action For May

Written By:

Michael Molter

Published On:

June 19, 2019 4:05 PM

Parx Casino Pennsylvania
  • Just over $1 million was contributed to the state and city governments in May from legal sports betting in PA.
  • Rivers Casino has led all Pennsylvania sportsbooks in betting handle for four straight months.
  • Combined revenue from every PA sportsbook (since launch) is only $326,705 away from earning $20 million.

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Legal sports betting in Pennsylvania has continued to thrive despite May being one of the least-wagered months of the year.

According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s sports wagering revenue update, the state is holding steady rather well.

Nearly $36 million was bet on sports for the month, slightly down from April’s betting handle of $36.8 million.

Over May, April, and March, Pennsylvania sportsbooks have taken in over $117 million, thanks in part to Rivers Casino, Sugarhouse Casino, and Parx Casino.

These three operators have drastically outperformed the other five licensed sportsbooks in the state, accounting for 63% (74.7 million) of that $117 million.

In May, Rivers Casino led all sportsbooks in betting handle for the fourth month in a row; however, this was the closest it has been since before this trend started.

Rivers was responsible for $7,924,510 in action while Sugarhouse Casino trailed its Pittsburgh counterpart by only $617. As for Parx Casino, they saw over $6.8 million in total wagers.

These three books have also been the leader in revenue since the year began, bringing in a combined $11.8 million, or 69%, of all eight legal PA sportsbooks’ revenue.

For May alone, every sportsbook combined to keep $2.86 million in revenue, before having to pay 34% ($973,030) to the state government and 2% ($57,237) to the cities where the sportsbooks are located.

This most recent contribution allowed for the total taxes to both state and city governments (since their November launch) to eclipse the $7 million mark.

Looking forward into June, the betting handle is expected to increase rather drastically, as the implementation of mobile betting in Pennsylvania has just begun.

Even without a drastic improvement, Pennsylvania sportsbooks are scheduled to surpass the $200 million betting handle mark as well as collecting over $20 million in revenue (both since launch).

An interesting tidbit of information: May was the first month in legal Pennsylvania sports betting history that no sportsbook kept more than 10% of their handle. This includes February’s numbers, which posted the lowest hold % on record.

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Ben Fiore

Michael Molter

Michael Molter has worked with LegalSportsBetting since 2018 starting as a content writer. Now the Director of Content, his work analyzes how laws, licensing, and compliance directly impact bettors and operators across jurisdictions. His research has been cited by NASDAQ, Research Gate, and PokerNews, as well as in academic reports from Villanova, Seton Hall, and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

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