Start of football seasons expected to boost state’s sports betting – Meadville Tribune

Football accounts for about one-third of the business for sports betting, meaningthestart of the NFL season will likely translate into a jump in sports wagering activity after a summer slowdown.

If there wasn't a football season, numbers would drop by about a third, said Eric Ramsey, lead data analyst for Play USA, a website that tracks the gambling industry.

Sports wagering is now legal in 26 states, according to the American Gaming Association.

That's up from 18 states with legal sports betting at the start of last year's football season. And some of the biggest markets in the U.S., including California and Florida, are moving toward legalization, with New York planning to adopt mobile sports betting at some point.

Pennsylvania is now the fourth-largest sports betting market in the country behind Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois.

Sports bettors placed $304 million in wagers at Pennsylvania casinos or online in July, almost twice as much as theyd bet in July of 2020 when there was $165 million in wagers placed.

July has traditionally been a slow month for sports betting since there arent many sports being played. Though this year, the Olympics seemed to provide an opportunity for a midsummer boost.

Even with the Olympics, sports wagering was down in July compared to June when there were $420 million in wagers placed. The Gaming Control Board has not yet released August data.

July is typically the very slowest month of the year, just not a lot going on in the calendar. It's really the most dead time for sports. We thought maybe Olympics might give it a little nudge this year, but really didn't see much of that. Everyone was down 20 or 30 percent, Ramsey said.

In the fiscal year of 2020-21, July of 2020 was the worst month. Betting peaked in January at $615 million in handle the only month in which the total amount bet topped $600 million, according to reports from the Gaming Control Board.

One-third of the total handle $108.5 million in bets was placed by bettors through the Valley Forge Casino. And 98 percent of the handle at Valley Forge came from online bets just under $107 million, according to the Gaming Control Board data.

Statewide, 90 percent of the sports betting in July was placed online, according to the Gaming Control Board.

Nationally, mobile betting accounts for more than 80 percent of sports betting revenue, much of it occurring live as games are underway.

The NFL, which along with other professional leagues once strenuously fought against the legalization of sports betting, now allows seven sports betting companies to advertise during games, and teams in various sports have inked deals with companies to become official sports betting partners, including deals announced Wednesday involving the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets.

Media companies continue to tie the knot with gambling firms, seeking synergies among gamblers who want to bet but also read and watch as much as they can about sports. Sports Illustrated has launched a sportsbook and the Wall Street Journal reports that ESPN is considering a $3 billion deal to license its brand to one or more sportsbooks. Even sports merchandise retailer Fanatics plans to launch a sports betting app.

The ever-increasing competition is making it more difficult to win or hold onto a piece of the pie for sports betting companies.

"Market share will be harder and harder to retain over time as more entrants come in," said Matt Prevost, chief revenue officer for BetMGM. "But more states have come online in the last 12 months and are (new) markets for us."

"Competition is fierce," added Johnny Avello, head of the sportsbook for DraftKings. "There's a lot of players in the game now."

Said David Schwartz, a gambling historian with UNLV: "The cost of entry is going up as it becomes harder to displaced established entities, which have first-mover advantage as well as the benefits of strategic partnerships. But, if the product is good, bettors will respond to it."

John Finnerty reports from the Harrisburg Bureau for The Meadville Tribune and other Pennsylvania newspapers owned by CNHI. Email him at jfinnerty@cnhi.com and follow him on Twitter @cnhipa.

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Start of football seasons expected to boost state's sports betting - Meadville Tribune