You could say the appetite for sports betting in Pennsylvania is voracious.
According to Pennsylvania state regulators, as reported by The Associated Press, the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville posted just upwards of $1.4 million in sports bets in the two-week span that sports betting became legalized last month.
To put that into perspective, New Jersey’s sportsbooks reported over $330 million worth of wagers in November, but that was for the entire month. This $1.4 million in sports bets that the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course recorded was in roughly two weeks, with some of that time being introductory hours.
So, just imagine the numbers that Pennsylvania’s sports betting will post in December, considering SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia and Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh launched sports betting last week, with Parx Casino in suburban Philly expected to open in the coming weeks as well.
That, and there’s plenty of intriguing local sports storylines to push the betting, considering defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers are each continuing their push to a playoff spot, with Sunday having the Eagles hosting the Houston Texans in a pivotal matchup, before the Steelers play a huge game on the road against the New Orleans Saints. Over in the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to prove that they’re the best team in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in fourth place with a 20-12 record.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for states to legalize sports betting in May, we have seen the industry boom with more and more states getting in on the action.
Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island currently stand as the legalized sports betting states, with ESPN’s “State-by-state sports betting bill tracker” listing New York and Arkansas in the “on-deck circle” of joining them.
With New Jersey being so successful with sports betting, including $21.2 million in revenue for November, New York’s projections and mere presence on the scene would be thrilling for the overall market.
