$462.8 million in bets made in Pennsylvania in September

Pennsylvania’s online and retail sportsbook generated a record $462.8 million in bets in September but failed to bring in record taxable revenue.

The commonwealth joins New Jersey and Nevada in surpassing $450 million in wagers in a single month, according to PlayPennsylvania.

However, because of heavy promotion and some “unlucky results for sportsbooks,” according to PlayPennsylvania, the record wagers produced only $6.3 million in taxable revenue, a significant drop from $18.3 million in taxable revenue from the $365 million in wagers made in August.

September’s revenue yielded $2.1 million in state taxes and $125,398 in local share assessment.

The record wagers were attributed to a robust sports season in September.

“With the beginning of the NFL season, a full schedule of baseball and the NBA and NHL playoffs, there may never be such a confluence of sporting events again,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com, regarding the spike in online betting.

He added, “Like New Jersey, Pennsylvania has created a well-rounded market that can drive significant action on every major sport. That market dynamic was able to bear fruit in September in a way that may never be fully possible again.”

The number of accepted wagers in Pennsylvania last month was up nearly 140 percent from last year’s handle of $194.5 million. The monthly wagers in September broke the number of record bets set the month earlier, with $365 million recorded in August.

“The question now becomes whether Pennsylvania can sustain this level once the sports calendar returns to normal,” said PlayPennsylvania.com analyst Valerie Cross. “Pennsylvania has etched a place in the top tier of gaming markets and could possibly pass Nevada as the nation’s number 2 market before the end of the year.”