Online sports betting in Pa. surpasses in-person

Online sports betting in Pennsylvania hit a milestone just two months after going live, with online sportsbooks accounting for the majority of the state’s sports bets for the first time.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported a total handle of nearly $39 million from online sportsbooks in July, $18 million more than what was made in-person. That puts online bets at nearly two-thirds of the total $59.3 million handle from last month.

That’s just during a slow season, according to sports betting analyst Jessica Welman from Play Pennsylvania, a gambling news and information website.

“Football is what really drives sports betting in general,” Ms. Welman said, and with the NFL preseason rolling along, the money wagered in online sports betting will continue to grow. “In Pennsylvania, it’ll probably jump to over $100 million in September at the latest,” she said.

At Rivers Casino, online wagers hit $9.2 million in July, more than double the $4.4 million wagered in retail sports betting.

Being able to bet at the tap of a finger is something that could appeal not only to those who are hoping to rake in big sums, Ms. Welman argues. “For the casual customer, just being able to put $10 on their team every week in college football adds to the experience in a way that they didn’t have before,” she said.

In New Jersey, where the first online sportsbooks launched in July 2018, wagers totaled $53.6 million by the end of the year. In 2019 alone, the handle has passed $103 million.

Eleven states have legalized sports betting since New Jersey took the NCAA to the Supreme Court in 2018, allowing states to join Nevada in legal sports betting. Since New Jersey won that battle, sportsbooks in the state have raked in over $221 million in revenue, with over $3.4 billion in wagers.