Daily Fantasy Sports Celebrates Its First Birthday In Pennsylvania

• Daily fantasy sports generated revenues of $22.5 million during the past 12 months.
• The state took $3.4 million in taxes on DFS action.
• PA taxes DFS operators at 15% of revenue.

HARRISBURG, Pa. – It is the one-year anniversary of the legalization of daily fantasy sports (DFS) in Pennsylvania. To celebrate, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has released the industry’s annual numbers.

Since being authorized by law, Pennsylvania’s DFS industry has flourished. In their first year serving the Keystone State, nine DFS operators have earned $22,542,688.

With a 15 percent tax rate, this translates to $3,381,403 in revenue for the state itself.

These are very good numbers.

For context, we can compare Pennsylvania’s DFS figures to those generated by its much larger sports wagering industry.

In the month of April, Pennsylvania DFS operators earned $1.8 million, while the state’s sportsbooks earned $4.2 million. By these numbers, DFS in Pennsylvania is about 40 percent as profitable as sports betting.

That seems closer than it should be, given the relative obscurity of DFS compared to the vast popularity of sports betting.

Of course, DFS revenues aren’t predicated on betting lines, handles, and low-margin bookmaker wins.

By comparison, in April, Pennsylvania bettors risked a total handle of $36,769,145. DFS doesn’t see remotely that kind of wagering interest among its players.

And while Pennsylvania’s DFS numbers are impressive, when it comes to tax revenues, they’re still in the minor leagues. In April, DFS generated $277,883 in tax income for the state. Pennsylvania Sports betting gave an April tax haul of $1.52 million.

The upshot? From the state’s perspective, the DFS industry is currently worth about two extra months of sports betting tax revenue.

When Pennsylvania launches mobile sports wagering, however, that’s likely to change.

With statewide access to legal sports betting on smartphones, tablets, and other computers, the betting industry is primed to erupt. Remember, DFS is an Internet-based product and has been available via mobile this entire time.

Whether or not DFS will be able to hold a candle to sports betting going forward remains to be seen.

News tags: DFS | fantasy sports | Pennsylvania