Just like the average fan, Pennsylvania’s fantasy sports revenues seemed to be missing football in February.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) released the February Fantasy Contests Revenue Report on Friday. That report revealed a total adjusted revenue decline of nearly $500,000 compared to January. Total revenue dipped from $2,116,499 to $1,629,178.
The drop in revenue can be traced in part to the end of football season. February featured just one football game — the Super Bowl — which limited daily fantasy platforms to single-game contests in the sport.
Overall, Pennsylvania will still receive $244,376.75 from the daily fantasy providers, which are assessed a 15 percent tax on their adjusted gross revenue. That money is then deposited into the Pennsylvania Commonwealth General Fund.
Here’s a look at the total revenue breakdown for February:
Fantasy operator Adjusted monthly revenue PA tax due
DraftKings $906,451.16 $135,967.67
FanDuel $622,815.68 $93,422.35
Fantasy Football Players Championship $47,744.12 $7,161.62
DRAFT $23,948.17 $3,592.23
Yahoo Fantasy Sports $9,726.89 $1,459.05
Sportshub Technologies $6,536.89 $980.53
Fantasy Draft $5,818.57 $872.79
Full Time Fantasy Sports $3,985.25 $597.79
Boom Fantasy $2,151.45 $322.72
DraftKings remains ahead of FanDuel
DraftKings once again led all of the fantasy providers, including its close competitor FanDuel. DraftKings had a total of $906,451.16 in adjusted revenue for its fantasy contests in February. FanDuel was second with $622,815.68. Pennsylvania’s remaining seven daily fantasy sports (DFS) outlets all generated total revenues of under $50,000.
According to Legal Sports Report, FanDuel was actually ahead of DraftKings when Pennsylvania DFS revenues were first reported in June 2018. More recently, DraftKings has been the leader. FanDuel is looking to close that gap and could receive a boost from its branding deal with FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino Resort, which opened last week.
Baseball’s return will enhance March revenues
Major League Baseball’s regular season starts on March 28. The first few days of the season and some showcase DFS contests should boost this month’s earnings. However, it’s hard to predict if those increased revenues will be enough to push March’s total past February.
How will PA sportsbooks affect DFS?
The other development to monitor is how the spread of Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks will affect daily fantasy contests. Total daily fantasy revenue has dropped from more than $2.86 million in December to about $1.63 million in February. Many people believe sports betting and daily fantasy games can coexist. And the FanDuel-branded casino is uniquely suited to provide some opportunities for that.
PA budget continues to benefit from gaming
All in all, Pennsylvania’s state budget will continue to benefit from all forms of gaming. Based on their 2018 earnings, daily fantasy providers will pay nearly $2.3 million in state taxes. Furthermore, the expansion of sports betting — which should include mobile betting in July and at least nine sportsbooks by the start of football season — will provide a boon several times that number.
So, as the wagers and daily fantasy contests continue, the tax revenue will pour in too.