The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported $968.5 million in sports betting handle for October on Wednesday, an all-time monthly high.
While not exactly a “Tush Push” away from becoming the sixth state to reach $1 billion in monthly handle in terms of proximity, Keystone State sportsbooks are in position to reach the benchmark in November. The Philadelphia Eagles are likely the linchpin to such hopes: The reigning Super Bowl champions are 8-2, enter Sunday’s contest against archrival Dallas on a four-game winning streak, and have NFL bettors’ undivided attention on Black Friday next week when they face the Chicago Bears.
Also helping out are the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lead the AFC North at 6-4. The Steelers close out November with a pair of high-profile opponents in Chicago and Buffalo. Philadelphia’s other two sports teams — the 76ers and Flyers — have been competitive in the early going, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have so far exceeded expectations hanging around the top of a balanced Metropolitan Division.
Handle was up 11.7% compared to last year as Pennsylvania crested $900 million for the fourth time in state history, and eclipsed the previous high of $935.5 million established last November. While the $31.2 million in promotional bonuses and credits offered by operators was up only 1.3%, the distribution among sportsbooks has changed notably.
The house finished with $91.8 million in gross revenue on the strength of a hold near 9.5%. Winnings were up 58% from 12 months ago as the win rate rose 2.7 percentage points. The state was eligible to levy taxes on $60.7 million in adjusted gross revenue, a 121.2% spike after it taxed only 47% of the $58.1 million in total operator winnings last October.
Pennsylvania state coffers claimed $20.6 million in receipts in becoming the third state along with New York and Illinois to generate $800 million in state-level tax revenue from sports betting. The $61.2 million accrued in the first four months of Fiscal Year 2026 is running $10.4 million ahead of last year’s pace.
Hey, big spender(s)
Pennsylvania has been well established as state sportsbooks can spend to their heart’s delight since promotional credits can be deducted against gross revenue. The Keystone State is similar to other marketplaces that allow deductions in the sense FanDuel and DraftKings almost always lead operators in terms of such outlay.
That was the case in the Keystone State in October, but DraftKings had a sizable pullback while FanDuel went in the opposite direction with another eight-figure outlay.
DraftKings offered bettors $5.6 million in credits and bonuses, less than half its $12 million spend in September and down nearly 30% from last year. This is the second straight year DraftKings budgeted its promotional offers such fashion. Its October spend last year was $8 million following a $13.7 million outlay the previous month.
Bettors did not seem all that bothered: DraftKings’ handle surged 33.8% to an all-time high of $297.7 million. Gross revenue nearly doubled to $27.3 million as the 9.2% hold was up nearly three full percentage points. The $21.7 million AGR also was an all-time high and created a tax bill of $7.4 million.
FanDuel has long been the marketplace leader in terms of mobile handle in Pennsylvania and the only mobile book to post $300 million-plus monthly handles. But its spend, even by its own standards, has been especially aggressive.
The leviathan followed up a record $16.1 million outlay in September with another $15.4 million in credits and bonuses. Those are FanDuel’s two highest monthly spends all-time in the Keystone State, with the latter figure up 42.6% from last year.
It did not translate into a surge in handle as the $355.1 million worth of accepted wagers represented a 3% increase from October 2024. An improved performance with a 9.4% win rate meant gross winnings outpaced handle growth at 18.8% to $33.5 million. Taxable revenue, though, grew only 4% to $18.1 million.
BetMGM, bet365, Fanatics also pull back
The bulk of the balance of the promotional spend was spread among bet365 ($3.5 million), Fanatics Sportsbook ($2.2 million), and BetMGM ($2.1 million). All three outlays, though, were down substantially with Fanatics down 18.7%; bet365 lower by 22.8%; and BetMGM dropping 23.8%.
Fanatics, though, still was able to muscle into the No. 3 spot for handle among operators, something it has done in other large-market states including Illinois. Its $65.4 million in accepted bets represented a 66.3% increase from last year and contributed to an 85% surge in gross winnings to $5.7 million. The $3.5 million in taxable winnings was nearly a 10-fold increase and $77,906 off its all-time high set in August.
BetMGM had the highest hold on gross revenue of any operator at 11%, keeping $6.4 million of the $58 million wagered. That was more than double last year, and the year-best $4.3 million AGR was almost 11 times higher than the $399,251 reported 12 months ago.
Bet365 also took it to Pennsylvania bettors, crafting a 10.8% win rate in claiming $4.4 million in gross winnings. The 3.6 percentage-point bump in hold contributed to a positive AGR swing of nearly $3.2 million from last year despite totaling only $938,712 in taxable winnings.
Bet365’s total promotional outlay of $17.4 million this year still lags behind its $20.9 million spent in its first six months of operation upon launch in July 2024. It also has $9.7 million in year-to-date AGR after entering 2025 more than $6.5 million in the red.
