- People in Pennsylvania wagered $44.5 million in March.
- All the sportsbooks in the state saw profits for the month.
- A lack of mobile sports betting could still be holding the state back.
PITTSBURGH – Pennsylvania saw a large boost in sports betting during the month of March with over $44.5 million wagered.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said that a record $44.5 million was wagered in March. For comparison, there was $31.5 million in bets made in February. The hold for March was about 12.5 percent of all of the bets made. This allowed the state to collect $2 million from the sports betting operators in taxes.
March Madness Boost
A large percentage of the money wagered that was wagered in March was due to the NCAA tournament, March Madness. The American Gaming Association predicted that over $8.5 billion would be wagered during this year's tournament. While the official numbers are not in, it is safe to say the tournament had a large factor in the increase in revenue.
The tournament proved very profitable for the sportsbooks in Pennsylvania. The Rivers Casino had a handle of $11.9 million and the hold was $1.3 million in March. This was an increase in revenue compared to February. Every other sportsbook in Pennsylvania also had a larger profit in March compared to the previous month.
Pennsylvania was not the only state to see an increase in sports betting revenue thanks to the tournament. Rhode Island and New Jersey saw an increase in bets being made during the month of March as well. The tournament is unpredictable, so it generates a lot of excitement for bettors all over the country.
Mobile Needed For Growing Market
Pennsylvania sportsbooks are confident that the market for sports betting is increasing in the state. However, not many people are betting compared to other states. New Jersey sees a larger number of people placing bets even though the total population of the state is smaller.
New Jersey has an edge over sports betting in Pennsylvania because they have mobile betting. There are no restrictions to sign up either, people in New Jersey can register for mobile sports betting account remotely. This has proven to work because 80 percent of all of the sports bets made in New Jersey were made on a mobile device.
If Pennsylvania is going to keep up with their growing sports betting market, they may want to implement mobile sports wagering apps. It should be important to note that mobile wagering is legal in Pennsylvania. The only issue is no one has launched a mobile app just yet. Many are predicting that Pennsylvania mobile sport wagering apps could come by summer this year.