Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania had a sports betting bill in place prior to PASPA being overturned, so once it did, the Keystone State was quickly able to establish a strong market with 12 mobile betting apps and retail facilities available.

Pennsylvania has a wide range of prominent professional and collegiate sports teams, and residents can legally wager on all of them. Betting on in-state colleges is allowed, with the only exception being that player props on college athletes are prohibited. Aside from college player props, bettors are also not legally allowed to wager on politics, eSports, and events like the NFL Draft.

Horse racing has been present in PA for decades, with multiple racetracks all over the state, so betting on these races is fully legal. Not only are racebooks available for download in PA, but daily fantasy sports apps are as well, as the DFS market is nearly as vast as the mobile sports betting app market in PA.

Online sports betting in The Keystone State

Pennsylvania was one of the first states to legalize sports betting. Their ability to act so quickly stemmed from the state passing HB 271 in 2017, which was before PASPA was overturned. Even though sports betting was still technically illegal when Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bill, it set the state up to launch retail betting by November 2018.

It wasn’t until May 2019 that mobile sports betting became available in the Keystone State. Under HB 271, mobile operators were required to partner with a land-based casino, and as a result, there are 12 active mobile sportsbooks available in PA heading into 2024.

Not only are there a dozen sports betting apps available, but the vast majority of them are brand-name operators, including BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Unibet. Since PA also once housed the Barstool Sportsbook and PointsBet Sportsbook, both ESPN Bet and Fanatics Sportsbook are now available as well.

By having this number of operators who are household names available, residents of PA are able to benefit from a great selection of new and existing customer bonuses since the competition is so strong.

At the same time, PA bettors may fall victim to some less-than-desirable odds from some sportsbooks due to the extremely high tax rate on sports betting. This is why we always recommend bettors open multiple betting accounts and price shop lines for the absolute best price available.

All legal PA sports betting apps in 2024 (from newest to oldest):

Sports betting & gambling legislation in PA

When looking to place a sports wager in Pennsylvania, a bettor must be at least 21 years old. It is not required that a bettor is an official resident of PA to place a legal wager, but they do have to be within state lines. While mobile sportsbooks do need to partner with a land-based retail operator, bettors do have the option for remote registration, which would allow them to create a mobile betting account from anywhere in the state.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board regulates all of these gambling-related regulations and issues licenses for operators. PA bettors have the luxury of remote registration and are subject to one of the lower tax rates on winnings among states with legal sports betting. All gambling winnings in PA are considered income, so they are taxed at 3.07%, in addition to the 24% federal income tax rate.

Since sports betting and iGaming are legal in the state, there aren’t many gambling-related discussions at upcoming legislative sessions. Over time, we could see more sportsbooks enter the market, but for the time being, the PA betting market will remain as it is today.

Most recent updates from the PA sports betting scene

• May 11, 2024: The number one pitching prospect in baseball, Paul Skenes, made his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates and struck out seven in four innings. Skenes is currently (+2000) to win NL Rookie of the Year.

• May 2, 2024: The Philadelphia 76ers have been eliminated from the postseason by the New York Knicks. Philadelphia has not reached the Conference Finals since the 2000-01 season.

• April 29, 2024: Alec Bohm has won NL Player of the Week after going 17-30 at the plate. He is the second Phillies player to win the award this season, as Philadelphia is currently (+1400) to win the World Series.

• April 25, 2024: Pennsylvania Senator Wayne D. Fontana has created SB 1159, which, if passed, would prohibit the use of credit cards to fund online sports betting, iGaming, iLottery, and daily fantasy sports.

• March 8, 2024: The game between Temple and UAB has been flagged by U.S Integrity for suspicious gambling activity. UAB went from a (-3) point favorite to around (-8) for no legitimate reason. Investigation is underway.

• January 4, 2024: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court faces appeals from multiple casinos, including Parx Casino, opposing the Commonwealth Court's decision to legalize skill games in the state. These casinos argue that skill games threaten the state's licensed and regulated industry.

In-person sports betting sites and locations

Across PA, there are currently 12 retail betting sites, which are a mix of casinos, racetracks, and off-track betting locations.

Many of these locations were in operation before the state’s sports betting bill was passed, but since November 2018, they’ve all featured functional sportsbooks, most of which are run by the one online skin they are allowed to partner with.

Sports betting in neighboring states

Legalized sports betting is common on the East Coast, as all six of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states have passed sports betting bills.

No matter which way PA residents happen to cross the state’s border, they will still find some version of sports betting, and to find out what each state has to offer, you can click on them in the boxes below.

Sports betting revenue impact on Pennsylvania's economy

All sports betting licenses in Pennsylvania require a one-time licensing fee of $10 million. This licensing fee is exceptionally high compared to other states with legal sports betting, even if it is just a one-time fee. Pennsylvania also has one of the country's highest tax rates for sports betting at 36% for both retail and online.

Finding success in sports betting revenue numbers has come easy to Pennsylvania. With a nice mix of volume in retail and mobile betting, along with a large population of people, PA generally finishes a month with over $50 million in revenue. In November 2023, the state also set a personal record for handle recorded in a month with $934.1 million.

The list of all-time handle, revenue, and tax income is ever-changing and growing, but PA has certainly solidified a spot in the top five for all three categories. Due to the high tax rate operators are subject to pay, Pennsylvania has made the second most tax income from sports betting in the country, with over $583 million.

Top 3 sportsbooks in the state in March 2024:

1. FanDuel (Valley Forge Casino Resort): Handle: $333.2m, Revenue: $24.4m

2. DraftKings (Hollywood Casino at the Meadows): Handle: $209.2m, Revenue: $10.7m

3. BetMGM (Hollywood Casino Morgantown): Handle: $51.9m, Revenue: $1.8m

Pennsylvania sports betting record months:

• Sports betting handle: November 2023 ($934,130,152)

• Revenue: December 2023 ($98,097,732)

• Tax income: December 2023 ($26,102,321)

PA sports betting revenue in 2024