The NFL season kicked off in September and regulated PA Fantasy Sports operators are certainly thankful it did.
After a sub-$1 million month in August, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) says approved fantasy sports operators posted $2,133,714 in revenue in September.
Pointing out the obvious, the Board says the start of the NFL season impacted revenue growth among the operators substantially.
Thanks to a 15 percent tax on the fantasy sports operators’ adjusted revenue, the state collected $320,057 in fantasy sports tax revenue for the month.
DraftKings leads the way
DraftKings lead all operators in September, taking in more revenue than all nine approved operators combined to post in August.
The leading daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator in the country, DraftKings posted $1,174,327.61 in PA fantasy sports revenue throughout the month.
Top DFS competitor FanDuel was not far behind, posting $948,838.89 in PA fantasy sports revenue in September. FanDuel’s monthly numbers were also slightly above the $943,620 in revenue all nine approved operators combined to post in August.
Fantasy sports in PA is really a two-horse race. However, New York-based DRAFT did manage to almost double its $10,000 a month revenue average, posting $19,659.38 in fantasy sports revenue to hold on to third place in the PA market.
The rest of the PA fantasy sports market
The rest of the approved PA fantasy operators posted the following September revenue numbers:
- Boom Fantasy: $1,336.87 (+87.3)
- Fantasy Draft: $1,088.58 (-71.7)
- Sportshub Technologies: $270.49 (-36.5)
- Full Time Fantasy Sports: $241.50 (n/a)
- Fantasy Football Players Championship: $0.00 (n/a)
- Yahoo Fantasy Sports: -$12,049.35 (-987.08)
The regulated PA fantasy sports market launched in May 2018 with operators posting $1,331,706.34 in revenue. Operators also recorded more than $1 million in revenue in June 2018.
However, there was very little outside of baseball going on in the sports world throughout the months of July and August. As a result, PA fantasy sports operators posted $878,184.93 and $943,620.22 in revenue respectively.
September marked the first time fantasy sports revenues in the state have risen above the $2 million mark. However, there’s a good chance they’ll stay there through the end of the calendar year, with the NFL season continuing until Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3, 2019.
Plus, there’s potential for even more growth with the NHL and NBA seasons both underway.
PA sports betting on the way
However, there may be some heavy competition on the way.
This month, the Board approved sports betting licenses for both Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville and Parx Casino in Bensalem.
Both are planning to launch sportsbooks as soon as November. The availability of single-game wagering and popular NFL parlays could potentially draw some gamblers away from fantasy sports.
The Board is expected to hand out even more PA sports betting licenses at its next meeting on Oct. 31.