The start of online sports betting at the SugarHouse casino in May was strong, but not enough to keep the state’s total sports handle from dropping 2.4 percent in May compared to April.
The total handle was $35.9 million on sports in May, down 2.4 percent from April and down 19.3 percent from March, according to a report released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
SugarHouse Casino, is the first casino to launch online sports betting and said that bettors placed $573,163 in bets during the last four days of the month.
Sports betting as a whole generated about $1 million in state and local taxes in May and has generated $7.1 million taxes on $198.3 million in total wagers since it launched in November.
According to an analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh led in sports-betting volume with $7.9 million, ahead of SugarHouse and Parx Casino in Bensalem. Parx also takes bets at its South Philadelphia and Oaks off-track betting outlets; when the two satellite operations are included, Parx took in $10.9 million in bets.
The launch of online sports betting is expected to be a boon for the state, but SugarHouse officials noted that the launch was hindered by new rules from Apple Inc. which restrict the types of apps available for iOS devices. SugarHouse has yet to release an app for iOS devices.
