All About Pennsylvania Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

By Steve Bittenbender

@BittGDCG

September 17, 2025 05:12pm

The experts at PennStakes.com assembled this guide to explain the terms surrounding Pennsylvania sports betting financial figures. These include the terms handle, revenue, gross revenue, and tax collections. It's worth noting this doesn't encompass the entire PA online gambling market but just sports betting specifically.

The sports betting market in Pennsylvania includes retail sportsbooks at the commonwealth’s casinos as well as mobile sports betting apps.

Overall, Pennsylvania has a sweeping array of legalized gambling options. The commonwealth has legalized traditional casino gambling and online casino gambling (slots and table games); sports wagering, both in-person and online; live and internet poker; video gambling terminals at truck stops; and fantasy sports. Pennsylvania also has horse racing and the lottery but those financial results are not included in the commonwealth’s monthly gaming report. 

In sports betting language, handle is the terms for all sports wagers placed in the state during any month (or year). The handle is broken down into retail bets, placed in person, or online handle. In Pennsylvania, bettors wager hundreds of millions of dollars each month. The vast majority of those bets are placed by people using online Pennsylvania sportsbook apps via computers or mobile devices, such as smart phones.

Revenue is what is left to the gambling operators after winnings are paid out. However, many states allow deductions resulting from promotions and bonuses to customers from the revenue total before the tax rate is applied. In Pennsylvania, the taxable revenue is called Gross Revenue in the commonwealth’s financial reports. 

In Pennsylvania, sports betting Gross Revenue is taxed at a relatively high tax rate of 36% (34% state & 2% local). But operators can deduct promotions and bonuses to customers before the tax rate is applied.

In Pennsylvania, retail sports gambling began in 2018 and online sports wagering began in 2019.

Pennsylvania Sports Betting, August vs. July

August saw Pennsylvania sportsbooks report increased activity as football season got underway. According to data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, reported on Sept. 17, bettors in the Keystone State wagered $515,446,826 during the month, a 25% improvement from the $412,477,357 handle reported for July.

Online wagering accounted for more than 95% of the August betting traffic, and the $490,042,546 wagered through Pennsylvania’s licensed online sports betting apps was a 24.8% increase from the $392,624,115 worth of wagers they accepted in July.

It wasn’t just the handles that went up. Operators reported a similar month-to-month increase in taxable sports betting revenue. Their $49,151,040 total for August represented a 21.2% increase from the $40,578,753 they generated in July. Online apps in the Keystone State accounted for $45,423,605 (or 92.4%) of the taxable revenue. That figure jumped 19.8% from the $37,905,881 mobile operators reported the previous month.

Increased operator revenues also mean more money for the commonwealth. Pennsylvania’s share of August sports betting tax revenues was $16,711,354, up from $13,796,776 the state received in July. Online wagering led to $15,444,026 in August taxes, compared to $12,887,976 in July.

Pennsylvania Mobile Sports Betting History