The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported a total handle of nearly $39M from online sportsbooks in July, $18M "more than what was made in-person," according to Mick Stinelli of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Online bets made up "nearly two-thirds" of the total $59.3M handle from last month, "accounting for the majority of the state’s sports bets for the first time." Online wagers at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh hit $9.2M in July, "more than double" the $4.4M wagered in retail sports betting (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/17). In Philadelphia, Andrew Maykuth reported sports betting in Pennsylvania "grew by 28% in July." Bets placed at brick-and-mortar casinos "actually declined" $6.7M for the month -- "not unexpected, because it is the low season for betting." But the "volume of online betting doubled" from $19.3M in June to $39M in July, "more than making up for a decline in activity in the physical sports-betting parlors." Online and retail bets generated $5.1M in "revenue for casinos," up from $3.1M in June. State and local governments collected $1M in taxes. The numbers are "expected to increase significantly in August with the start of football season" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 8/17).
