Putting the spotlight on the momentum online sports betting is gaining already in the USA, Pennsylvania reports its sports betting handle has climbed above half a billion dollars for the month of October 2020. With companies such as DraftKings, Inc. (DKNG 0.59%) and Penn National Gaming (PENN -3.64%) through its Barstool Sports partnership providing the platform for much of the action, 89.8% of the handle took place online, according to PlayPennsylvania analysis.
Since the Keystone State's governor signed its gambling-expansion proposal into law on Oct. 30, 2017, $658.3 million in tax revenue resulted as of Oct. 16, 2020. The sports betting handle jumped 118% year over year for October 2020, with a total handle of $525.8 million for the month. "Handle" is the total sum of money exchanging hands during wagering and is therefore considerably larger than company revenue for the sportsbooks or tax revenue for the state.
Image source: Getty Images.
Out of that total, DraftKings managed $121 million, or 23%, while Penn (and Barstool) managed $61 million worth of handle, or 11.6%. The state's importance to both companies is underlined by analyst Dustin Gouker of PlayPennsylvania, who noted in his analysis, "Pennsylvania could conceivably catch Nevada in a matter of months to become the nation's No. 2 market," which he qualified by saying the outcome is more likely "if the Steelers continue to roll and the Eagles can somehow make a playoff run to spike local interest."
DraftKings is seen by some Wall Street analysts as particularly well positioned to benefit from the spread of legalized sports betting across the USA, and already has a presence in 10 states, more than any of DraftKings' rivals.
