The Pennsylvania daily fantasy sports (DFS) market grew for the first time since launching in May, as it was revealed that operators took in $944k in revenue for August, up from $878k in July.
DraftKings leads when it comes to revenue for August, collecting $502k in revenue, marking the third consecutive month it has taken the top spot for revenue in the Pennsylvania DFS market.
FanDuel, DraftKings’ long-time competitor, sits comfortably in second, generating $425k in revenue—slightly down on its July revenue of $427k.
However, FanDuel substantially grew the amount of entry fees it took in, from $4.3 million in July to $4.8 million in August. DraftKings took in $4.7 million in entry fees in August.
It seems like FanDuel is taking a different approach to its customers—compared to that of DraftKings—investing in market share and giving more back to players rather than focusing on its bottom line.
As Pennsylvania is also readying itself for offering players online sports betting (as well as online poker and casino offerings), it might be that FanDuel is hedging its bets by building up brand loyalty now via its DFS portfolio before it starts offering sports wagers in the state.
August also saw incremental revenue growth for smaller DFS operators such as, Yahoo, FantasyDraft and Star Street. Both Yahoo and FantasyDraft continue to return almost all entry fees back to players, keeping their gross profit margin low.
The NFL 2018-2019 has now officially started with NBA and NHL seasons starting in October, so revenue can be expected to grow in this busy period until at least Christmas.
What is Happening in Pennsylvania to Bring Online Poker to Life?
More Interactive Gaming Certificates that are issued to land based casinos in Pennsylvania have been approved in recent weeks.
Hollywood Casino and SugarHouse Casino got their applications approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) so that they can offer online poker, casino and table games to players in Pennsylvania when the market opens.
Harrah’s Casino Philadelphia, Mount Airy Casino and Parx Casino all got their licenses approved in August.
These are positive steps towards seeing online gaming go live in the state.
