The sports betting industry in Pennsylvania is alive and well as the state posted a new record during September. In September, the sports betting handle was reported at $362.7 million, a 26.8% increase from August.
Pennsylvania actually set an industry record just a month ago, but the September numbers easily surpassed that mark. This trend is consistent with the rest of the sports betting industry in the US, but the state of Pennsylvania has to be thrilled with this huge increase.
The start of the 2020 NFL regular season was a big reason for the increase in September, but so was the launch of the Barstool Sportsbook app. It has not taken long for the Barstool app to become one of the most popular betting options in the state.
The previous record in Pennsylvania was just $265 million, and that was set in August 2020. This indicates that the industry in the state has fully recovered from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Pennsylvania remains one of the biggest sports betting markets in the United States, and there is still plenty of room to grow.
Mobile Still Leads the Way
Pennsylvania has a strong mobile sports betting market, which remains the most popular way to bet on sports. Mobile sports betting accounted for $414.1 million of the total during September, close to 90% of the total.
In August, mobile sports betting accounted for 88% of the total bets, so the industry’s mobile portion continues to grow. Retail sportsbooks are now open after being shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most sports bettors find it much easier to place a bet online rather than traveling to a retail sportsbook location.
Still Trailing New Jersey
Pennsylvania has emerged as one of the top sports betting markets in the United States, but it continues to trail the state of New Jersey. New Jersey has set a new industry record for the second straight month, and those numbers are expected to continue to grow.
New Jersey just posted a sports betting handle of $748.6 million during September, shattering the previous record by almost $80 million.
All Gambling Numbers Strong
Outside of New Jersey, a few other states have already posted their September figures, and it shows a considerable growth in the entire industry. Indiana, Iowa, and West Virginia have all seen increases in both total sports betting handle and sports betting revenue.
Indiana reported sports betting handle figure of more than $207 million during September, which was an increase of more than 22%. Indiana has become the leader in the Midwest portion of the United States.
West Virginia announced that the sports betting handle increased by more than 90%, up to $76.9 million during September. Iowa saw sports betting handle rise by almost 44 percent up to $72.4 million last month.
