Opening on May 28th for PGCB testing, PA.PlaySugarHouse.com took its first bet at 4 p.m. within a restricted environment. Deposit options were fairly limited, along with the hours to bet. Kicking off smack dab in the middle of the NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals, PA online betting launched at a viable time of betting interest. It does not hurt that the Phillies are in the hunt for a division crown and betting on the Eagles futures odds is a year round event in Philly.
May 2019 PA Sports Betting Revenue
Overall, the sports betting handle in Pennsylvania was nearly $36 million. That equates to about 1.5 percent of it coming via mobile, but once again, it was just 3 days of online/mobile access. For comparison sake moving forward, the New Jersey Sports Betting handle is nearly all mobile, consistently above 80%.
Right now, bettors in PA cannot wager on PA.PlaySugarHouse.com via iOS platforms. Only online desktop platforms and Android devices are viable options. It is expected that the iOS issues will be gone come football season. The SugarHouse brand will also be long gone come football season as Rush Gaming will use the “Rivers” brand moving forward.
May 2019 PA Sports Betting Report:
– Total handle $35,934,215 (down from $36.7M April)
– Rush Street continues to dominate with the top 2 sportsbooks by handle:
1. Rivers: $7,924,510
2. SugarHouse: $7,923,839SugarHouse with a few days of online wagering saw handle of $573,163
— PA Sportsbooks (@PASportsbooks) June 18, 2019
PA Sports Betting Handle Exceeds $200 Million Since Launch
With additional PA Online Sportsbooks set to launch very soon, PA sports betting revenue is due to explode come football season. With an online/mobile sports betting handle of just north of $570k, PA.PlaySugarHouse took in close to $40,000. However, that is before they paid $13,176 in taxes (34 percent) and $775 in local taxes.
In total, sportsbooks in the state paid north of $1 million in taxes in May. Here is a comprehensive list of all the PA sportsbook handles for the month of May:
| PA SPORTSBOOK | MAY 2019 SPORTS BETTING HANDLE |
| Rivers Sportsbook (Pittsburgh) | $7,924,510 |
| SugarHouse Sportsbook (Philly) | $7,923,839 |
| Parx Sportsbook | $6,809,662 |
| Hollywood Casino | $3,816,054 |
| South Philly Race and Sportsbook | $2,745,803 |
| Valley Forge Casino (FanDuel) | $2,739,475 |
| Harrah’s (Chester) | $2,589,147 |
| Oaks Race and Sportsbook (formerly VF Race & Sportsbook) | $1,385,725 |
| TOTAL | 35,934,215 |
Since launching in November 2018, PAsportsbooks have taken in $19.6 million in revenue via a sports betting handle just north of $200 million. Amazingly, BetRivers Sportsbook has accounted for over $100 million of that handle. It is safe to assume that the Rivers dominance will come to end once FanDuel Sportsbook PA and Parx Sportsbook launch their online/mobile platforms.
| Month | Sports Betting Handle | Sports Betting Revenue |
| Nov. 2018 | 1,414,586.55 | $508,996.60 |
| Dec. 2018 | $16,173,090.24 | $2,006,546 |
| Jan. 2019 | 32,011,838 | $2,607,205 |
| Feb. 2019 | $31,500,741.94 | $1,946,816.00 |
| Mar. 2019 | 44,527,574 | $5,519,340 |
| April 2019 | $36,769,145 | $4,221,482 |
| May 2019 | $35,934,215 | $2,861,853 |
| TOTAL | 198,331,190.73 | $19,672,238.60 |
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