Pennsylvania Sportsbooks Rout Public To Cap 2025

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported on Tuesday $103.8 million in gross sports betting revenue for December, notching a statewide 13% hold for the second time in the mobile era.

It was also the first time Keystone State sportsbooks had back-to-back months with $100 million or more in gross winnings as they followed up their record November haul of $125.4 million in dominant fashion. The $883.7 million in calendar-year pre-adjusted revenue was up 13.5% from last year as the near-10% win rate was up almost three-quarters of a percentage point.

Handle dipped 10.7% from last December to $797.4 million as Pennsylvania sports fans did not seem all that convinced about the playoff chances of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers despite both winning their respective division titles. Still, the $8.86 billion wagered in 2025 was up 5.2% compared to 2024.

The state levied taxes on $84.8 million in adjusted gross revenue, which resulted in a windfall of $28.8 million for the month. The $123.5 million collected in the first half of the current fiscal year is running $39.1 million ahead of FY 2024-25, while the $204.8 million in receipts the last 12 months was $31.2 million higher than 2024 despite the Eagles winning Super Bowl LIX last February.

Hey big spender

Pennsylvania’s status as a high-tax, high-promotional-deduction state allows operators to be aggressive in courting business. Operators proved slightly stingy in December, however, as the $19 million in credits and bonuses was 25.7% lower than 2024 and the lowest in the final month of the year since $16.6 million in such plays were doled out in December 2020.

FanDuel accounted for 39.2% of the December spend with close to $7.5 million worth of free bets and bonuses, and the mobile juggernaut accounted for 41% of the $281.2 million in digital promotional outlay for 2025.

DraftKings continued its notable pullback despite being second in spend at $3.7 million. Its $13.1 million outlay for the final three months of 2025 was down 36.7% from the fourth quarter of 2024 and reduced its year-over-year increase in spend by 4.5% to $70.3 million.

Fanatics ($29.6 million) was the only other operator whose spend accounted for more than 10% of the state outlay, though both bet365 ($22.2 million) and BetMGM ($22 million) also lavished more than $20 million in credits on bettors. Over half of bet365’s spend — $14.1 million — came in the final four months, but the $1.8 million in December was down 24.3% from the final month of 2024.

Big win for FanDuel

FanDuel pummeled the public to close out 2025, notching a 16.1% hold in keeping $45.4 million of the $281.8 million worth of accepted bets. That was enough to give it a 12% win rate for the calendar year along with $388.8 million in gross winnings. Even with FanDuel posting holds of 13% or higher seven times during the year, revenue ticked up by only 3.4% compared to 2024.

Even with a pullback on spend, DraftKings cut into FanDuel’s market share throughout 2025. Its $2.43 billion handle was up 9.7% from the previous year while FanDuel’s $3.24 billion was down 4.5% from 2024. DraftKings reported a 19.6% increase in gross winnings to $236.7 million as its 9.7% win rate was eight-tenths of a percentage point higher.

Fanatics claimed the final podium spot for December revenue with $6.2 million as it notched an 11.4% hold on $54.3 million handle. It capped a strong 2025 as the $54.5 million in gross revenue was up 85.4% from the previous year. Handle more than doubled to $636.3 million, while its promotional outlay was up 45.6%.

Double-digit holds nearly everywhere

BetMGM quietly put together a solid year despite its calendar-year win rate slipping nearly one-half of a percentage point to 7.4%. Gross revenue was up 13.7% to $49.2 million, though that lagged behind the 20.9% rise in handle to $660.8 million. BetMGM narrowly missed a 10% hold in December with $5.6 million in winnings from $56.1 million worth of bets placed.

Bet365 held off theScore to round out the top five for revenue as the England-based sportsbook claimed $4.2 million with an 11.8% hold on $36 million handle. TheScore began operations under the Penn Entertainment flag with the second-best hold of Pennsylvania’s 10 mobile operators in December at 12.7%, reaping $3.8 million in revenue.

That was an increase greater than four-fold compared to predecessor ESPN Bet, but handle was down 28.3% from December 2024. TheScore’s promotional spend of $613,900 was barely half that of ESPN Bet’s $1.3 million from the previous year.

Caesars was the only digital sportsbook to whiff by December standards. It had a state-low 7.4% win rate in collecting $1.5 million in revenue. That put the finishing touch on another rough year for the sportsbook, though its 5.2% hold for 2025 was Caesars’ best in a full year since the relaunch of its app in September 2022.