Market Monitor: Pennsylvania Fantasy Sports October 2019
Key Takeaways
  • It just out-pips the previous market high of $3.24 million set in November 2018.
  • However, year-over-year, it represents growth of just 12.5%.
  • The gap between DraftKings and FanDuel was the largest in the market’s 18-month history.

The fantasy sports market in Pennsylvania hit a new market high last month, generating total net gaming revenue of $3.26 million. It just out-pips the previous market high of $3.24 million set in November 2018.

With the football season still to reach its crescendo, it is likely that November 2019 will set yet another high before revenues start to decline into the quieter months.

However, year-over-year it represents growth of just 12.5%. This is actually the lowest since annual comparisons have been possible: Over the proceeding five months, annual growth was between 30% and 60%

The same trend can be seen in entry fees. While a new market high was reached with operators taking in more than $30 million for the first time, it represented growth of just 10%, by far the lowest.

As we have seen in previous peak months, it was DraftKings that led the pack. It generated 54% of the market’s revenue, just above its historic market share of 49%. The gap between it and FanDuel was the largest in the market’s 18-month history.

Outside the big two, it was SportHub that generated the most in revenue. The operator focuses on season-long sports, so sees spikes at the start of each major season. With both the NBA and NHL seasons kicking off in October, it was a key month for season-long operators.

It was also a good month for Yahoo, which took in entry fees of $436,000. While it was a dip on the same amount a year ago, it actually generated positive revenue of $23,000. It is the most since January 2019 and its second-best month on record (in September, it reported a loss.) Its gross win margin of 5.2% was the best in over a year.