Pennsylvania reports slight fantasy revenue growth in March
Pennsylvania’s licensed fantasy sports operators have reported a slight improvement in revenue for March, following three consecutive months of decline.
According to the latest figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), fantasy contests revenue rose 0.35% month-on-month to $1.634m (£1.252m/€1.444m), an increase of $5,000 from February’s total.
DraftKings once again led the market in March, despite its total revenue declining 4.6% to $864,702.586. FanDuel, its closest challenger, closed the gap at the top with revenue of $736,340.40, an 18.2% improvement on its total for February.
The pair accounted for $1.6m, or 97.9%, of all contest revenue generated for the month.
February’s fourth-placed operator, DRAFT, moved up to third in the market, despite reporting a 15.8% drop in revenue to $20,170.67. This was due to Fantasy Football Players Championship, which was responsible for $47,744.12 in revenue in February, generating no revenue in March.
Aside from FanDuel, only two other operators posted an increase in revenue for March. One was Yahoo Fantasy Sports, which saw revenue grow 18.5% to $11,528.94. It was ranked fourth out of the state’s nine licensed fantasy operators, ahead of Boom Fantasy, which climbed from last place to fifth, with revenue up 26.3% to $2,716.60.
SportsHub Technologies, meanwhile, saw revenue plummet 98.3% to just $112.58. Full Time Fantasy Sports, like Fantasy Football Players Championship, generated no revenue in March, while Fantasy Draft made a $727.22 loss.
The slight growth in revenue led to a minor increase in tax revenue, from Pennsylvania’s 15% gross revenue tax on fantasy contests. Operators paid total tax of $245,226.70, an 0.3% improvement on February.
In related news, data solutions provider Continent 8 has been authorised by the PGCB to provide co-location, data warehousing and managed network services to online gaming operators in the state.
“We are very excited to bring our global network and managed services to the online gaming community in Pennsylvania,” Continent 8 chief executive Michael Tobin said. “The new opportunities for gaming operators, including online sports betting companies, will require a partner like Continent 8 that is knowledgeable and delivers expeditious results.
“The upcoming launch date for mobile online casino and sports betting only increases the urgency to set up operations now.”