All About Pennsylvania Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

By Editorial Staff

May 20, 2025 12:49pm

The experts at PennStakes.com assembled this guide to explain the surrounding PA online gambling market but just sports betting specifically.

The sports betting market in Pennsylvania includes retail sportsbooks at the commonwealth’s casinos as well as mobile sports betting apps.

Overall, Pennsylvania has a sweeping array of legalized gambling options. The commonwealth has legalized traditional casino gambling and online casino gambling (slots and table games); sports wagering, both in-person and online; live and internet poker; video gambling terminals at truck stops; and fantasy sports. Pennsylvania also has horse racing and the lottery but those financial results are not included in the commonwealth’s monthly gaming report. 

In sports betting language, handle is the for all sports wagers placed in the state during any month (or year). The handle is broken down into retail bets, placed in person, or online handle. In Pennsylvania, bettors wager hundreds of millions of dollars each month. The vast majority of those bets are placed by people using online Pennsylvania sportsbook apps via computers or mobile devices, such as smart phones.

Revenue is what is left to the gambling operators after winnings are paid out. However, many states allow deductions resulting from promotions and bonuses to customers from the revenue total before the tax rate is applied. In Pennsylvania, the taxable revenue is called Gross Revenue in the commonwealth’s financial reports. 

In Pennsylvania, sports betting Gross Revenue is taxed at a relatively high tax rate of 36% (34% state & 2% local). But operators can deduct promotions and bonuses to customers before the tax rate is applied.

In Pennsylvania, retail sports gambling began in 2018 and online sports wagering began in 2019.

Pennsylvania Sports Betting, April vs. March

The fourth month of the year delivered its typical mixed bag of results for sports betting operators in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania sportsbooks took in a total sports betting handle of $711,569,216 in April, down 15.6% from March’s total of $842,856,961, according to figures that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported. Of that total, the state’s online sports betting handle wrapped up April at $681,434,591, down 15.5% from March ($806,270,419).

But Pennsylvania’s gross sports betting revenue increased dramatically in April, at $42,533,444, up 57.4% from March ($27,026,829). Of that total, mobile sports betting revenue contributed $41,168,661, up 61.1% from March ($25,555,778), illustrating the dominance that online operators have in the state’s sports betting marketplace.

Consequently, the Keystone State’s surge in wagering revenue in April netted Pennsylvania more tax money, with the increases matching the percentages in overall and mobile categories. In April, sportsbook operators contributed $14,461,371 in state tax revenue from sports wagering, up 57.4% from March ($9,189,122). The tax revenue from mobile sports wagering rose from $8,688,965 the previous month to $13,997,345 in April.

Pennsylvania Mobile Sports Betting History