With COVID-19 delayed playoffs, Pennsylvania sets record with $462M in sports betting in September

Pennsylvania’s sports betting industry is back in a big way as sporting events that had been shut down during the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic began returning – all at once.

The state’s relatively new sports betting industry took a huge hit earlier this year when nearly all sports were canceled in the U.S and across the globe.

Sportsbooks run by Pennsylvania’s casinos took just $46 million in online bets during April.

That was about $300 million less than analysts had predicted before the virus hit, said Dustin Gouker, analyst for PlayPennsylvania, an online gaming research and advocacy firm.

For September, a month that saw the beginning of the NFL season, a full schedule of baseball, and the NBA and NHL playoffs, it meant a variety of sports betting options that had never come at the same time before.

As a result, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said the state’s casinos received a record $462.8 million in bets for the month.

Gouker noted that September’s handle was up 137.9% over last year from $194.5 million in September 2019 and betting greatly surpassed the previous record of $365 million, which was set last month.

Even with the added sports, Gouker noted that Pennsylvania’s sports betting industry fared much better than other states, pointing out that only two other states, Nevada and New Jersey, have broken the $450 million mark in sports wagering before.

“The question now becomes whether Pennsylvania can sustain this level once the sports calendar returns to normal,” said Valerie Cross, another analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “Pennsylvania has etched a place in the top tier of gaming markets and could possibly pass Nevada as the nation’s No. 2 market before the end of the year.”

In-person betting also did well with $48.7 million in bets in September.

In other areas, online casino games and poker continued their strong performance in September.

Combined, they produced a record $57 million in gross operator revenue. That’s $1.9 million per day over the 30 days of September.

Those numbers are up from August, when online gambling generated $55.9 million, or $1.8 million per day for the 31 days of August.

Total gaming and fantasy contests revenue generated in Pennsylvania during September 2020 was actually up slightly after taking a dive earlier this year.

Casinos took in $284.24 million, an increase of 1% over September 2019.

Results for September were mixed for the state’s casinos.