• Pennsylvania has received $4.28 million in tax contribution from legal sports betting.
• March’s handle of $44.5 million and revenue of $5.59 both set monthly records for PA.
• Rivers Casino has taken in 28% of all PA sports wagers since the state’s November launch.

HARRISBURG – Its Madness! Well, at least it was for the eight operating sportsbooks for the month of March in Pennsylvania.

In the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s monthly sports wagering report, Valley Forge Casino and Valley Forge Race And Sportsbook both reported for March – their first month’s operations. This assisted in bringing in over $44.5 million in sports wagers for the state as a whole.

Setting a new monthly handle record, January held the previous title at a $32 million handle. This 39% increase over the record helps put Pennsylvania closer to revenue projections.

Not only did the state see more money coming in, but they also fared much better than in previous months. The 12.3% hold surpassed the 8.1% and 6.1% hold levels for January and February, respectively.

With a gross revenue of $5.59 million, March now accounts for 43.8% of the total revenue for Pennsylvania sportsbooks since the launch in November 2018.

The previous record month (January) saw the books keep $2.6 million, which looks like small potatoes next to March’s robust report.

Let’s Break Down The Numbers

Rivers Casino continues to set the curve, as it has brought in the highest handle every month it has been in operation, except January.

The $11.9 million wagered at the Pittsburgh sportsbook helped them also notch the highest revenue amount for the state. Keeping $1.34 million, the state will receive over $450,000 from Rivers Casino for March alone.

Not far behind is Sugarhouse Casino, who has held the second-place handle total every month except January, when they slightly surpassed Rivers.

Sugarhouse’s $9.22 million accounted for 20.7% of the states handle and also provided the 22.4% of the combined sportsbooks revenue.

New to the game, FanDuel Sportsbook At Valley Forge launched in the middle of March but still held its own against the six previously operating books. The book brought in $2.04 million as a handle, which, if doubled (to portray a full month’s report) would position it as the fourth highest handle in the state.

However, those who wagered at FanDuel Sportsbook will need to do some further research, as the madness in March allowed the sportsbook to post a keep of 21.9%.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Book at Harrah’s Casino needs to do some research into their own betting lines. Their gamblers proved to have successful betting strategies, as the $326,752 in gross revenue did not help with The Book’s success.

Bringing in over $3.79 million this month, Harrah’s kept only 8.6% of all wagers.

It is no surprise that the sports betting handle in Pennsylvania keeps increasing, nor it is surprising that the gross revenue is following it.

For the state’s benefit, March’s monthly contribution of $1.87 million eclipsed both January and February’s combined tax contribution.

Mobile betting in Pennsylvania is still a few months away from their expected launch date but with this addition, we should see these March numbers look measly in comparison to future reports.

April’s report will post revenue numbers of a full month for both of the Valley Forge sportsbooks.

In future reports, we should also expect to see numbers for Mount Airy Casino and the Mohegan Sun Pocono, as they are just awaiting approval from the PGCB before their launches.

As of the last report, legal sports betting in Pennsylvania has seen a handle of $125.62 million, gross revenue reach $12.58 million, and the state receive $4.28 million in tax contributions.