The unofficial end of summer could be a great start to autumn for the Pennsylvania sports betting industry.
In August, Pennsylvania sports betting snapped a three-month decline in total handle with a significant total increase and a promising sign as the NFL and college football seasons are underway.
The Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers have both started 1-1 this season.
Here are three PA online gambling takeaways from the August Pennsylvania report released Monday:
Total & Online Handles Up About 15%
August total sports betting handle came in at $348.52 million, up a solid 14.5% from July’s $304.4 million and online handle posted $318.1 million, an increase of 15.5% from July’s $275.4 million.
Mobile betting was 91.3% of the market.
However, both handle numbers were down from figures in August 2020.
Pennsylvania Sports Betting, August vs. July
| Total Handle | Mobile Handle | Gross Revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | $348.520M | $318.131M | $18.007M |
| July | $304.416M | $275.450M | $19.856M |
| Change | Up 14.5% | Up 15.5% | Down 9.3% |
Phillies in Contention Helped
One-team cities with the four professional leagues can do wonders if that particular team is successful and in a playoff race.
The Phillies (76-73) have been surprising contenders in the National League East Division race and remain so, just two games out behind the Atlanta Braves for the top spot and 3½ games back in the Wild Card chase as of Monday afternoon.
This certainly helped numbers-wise in August and probably will continue in September.
Online Gaming Steady
The numbers for PA online casinos were steady in August.
Table games gross revenue was down a tick at $86.3 million, a 0.7% decrease from July’s record $86.92 million, but August was the second-best month ever in the state for that category.
Mobile slots handle was at $1.783 billion, up a solid 2.2% from July, and its gross revenue was up 4.9% from last month, coming in at $66.3 million.
Retail slots handle and revenue, along with online table games handle and revenue, saw decreases from July.
As outdoor activities decrease due to the weather and colder temperatures and more indoor activities take place, the retail/online numbers should bounce back in the fall months.
