Last week’s Super Bowl may have been a disappointment for Philadelphia Eagles fans, but those running sportsbooks and online wagering apps in Pennsylvania had no cause to complain. Thanks to the thrilling finish between the Chiefs and the Eagles, sportsbooks and wagering apps reaped rewards unheard of before legal sports betting existed in the Keystone State: $29.7 million in revenue taken off bets for just this one game. The state regulator, PGCB, was quick to share these remarkable numbers, indicating that legal sports betting has quickly become a major win for Pennsylvania as well as football fans throughout the state.
Online Wagering Still Dominated
Last Super Bowl Sunday was a big one for Pennsylvania in terms of sports betting, with nearly $84.3 million wagered on the game, an astonishing 24% increase from the prior year. Overwhelmingly, 87.8% of those bets were placed online through state-licensed sites, and much of this action likely went to the Philadelphia Eagles due to their being the top city in PA.
This surge in wagers made huge payoffs for sportsbooks, doubling their winnings from a measly $4.6 million the year before to a whopping $10 million earned in 2018 – an amount subject to Pennsylvania’s 36% tax cut. Gaining insight into just how many Pennsylvania residents were taking part in these online sports bets is GeoComply’s Intelligence service data – GeoComply tracked 100+ million geolocation checks, and within those 12 million were traced back to PA bettors.
Nevada Slashes Sportsbook Win By 50%
Last Monday, early reports predicted that Nevada sportsbooks had won big in last week’s Super Bowl. When the Nevada Gaming Control Board issued a statement Wednesday however, it was revealed that the actual winnings for the state’s 185 licensed sportsbooks totaled just slightly over $5.5 million – far less than the $11.2 million initially announced.
This year’s Super Bowl win total of $11.1 million was lower than the 2020 figure of $15.4 million putting an extra drag on potential gains for Nevada betting outlets. Despite these cutbacks, estimated handles for 2021’s Super Bowl were still considerable at nearly $153.2 million; a slight dip from 2020’s handle of 179.8 million yet not quite as dramatic as the revaluation of winnings would substantiate.
New Jersey Experiences Surging Revenues
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported Thursday that New Jersey sportsbooks had a banner year during the Super Bowl. With $109.3 million in bets and $12.8 million in revenues, industry operators earned an impressive win rate of 11.7%.
Despite South Jersey being home to numerous Eagles fans, wagering traffic fell from last year’s record-breaking $143.7 million mark by almost 24%. Yet the sportsbooks profited greatly from the prosperous betting on Eagles games, as revenue grew by an impressive 64.1%, equaling an additional $5 million in profits for state operators.
