The revenue numbers are in from the first month of Pennsylvania daily fantasy sports contests, and the winner is FanDuel.
Yes, FanDuel topped DraftKings in May in Pennsylvania. It’s a narrow but notable victory for the second-largest DFS operator in the nation, in terms of users, entry fees and revenue.
In total, eight DFS companies reported revenue for the initial month, according to numbers from the PA Gaming Control Board, from FanDuel’s total of more than $673,000 to FastPick’s $319. Pennsylvania will collect nearly $200,000 in tax revenue from the DFS operators from last month’s activity.
FanDuel’s leading role comes even as data shows that DraftKings generates substantially more revenue in total.
FanDuel comes out ahead
Here’s a look at what each DFS company made in adjusted revenue in Pennsylvania in May and how much tax money that generates for the state:
- FanDuel: $673,013.94 revenue, $100,952.09 tax
- DraftKings: $632,008.62 revenue, $94,801.29 tax
- DRAFT: $16,992.35 revenue, $2,548.85 tax
- Yahoo Fantasy Sports: $4,430.47 revenue, $664.57 tax
- FantasyDraft: $2,499.86 revenue, $374.98 tax
- Sportshub Technologies: $1,590.67 revenue, $238.60 tax
- Boom Fantasy: $851.42 revenue, $127.71 tax
- Fastpick: $319.01 revenue, $47.85 tax
- Full Time Fantasy Sports and Fantasy Football Players Championship: No revenue
Total: $1,331,706.34 revenue, $199,755.94 tax
A big month for FanDuel
The DFS win in Pennsylvania comes on the heels of FanDuel’s acquisition by Paddy Power Betfair in late May. The Dublin-based gaming company snapped up FanDuel in a deal expected to close sometime in the third quarter of 2018.
PPB will get not only an entry path into DFS, but access to FanDuel’s user database with an eye toward US legal sports betting. The company made as much clear in the press release announcing its purchase:
The transaction strengthens the Group’s opportunity to target the prospective US sports betting market through the addition of a strong brand, large existing customer base and talented team. The scale of the combined business also means it is well positioned in discussions with providers of market access for sports betting.
DraftKings also made sports betting news Wednesday. The company signed a tech deal with Kambi Group in preparation for a near-term launch in New Jersey.
Pennsylvania just started regulating DFS
The Keystone State only fully jumped into the game last month after authorizing DFS under a 2017 law. That legislation made Pennsylvania the 17th state to approve DFS at the time, even though providers had been operating in the state prior to the law.
Under the regulations enforced by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, operators each paid a $50,000 fee for five years of licensure. They are taxed at 15 percent of adjusted gross revenue and the money collected goes into the state’s general fund.
PA sports betting will be a tougher sell under the onerous regulations approved by the state. Anyone wishing to apply for a sports betting license must put up a $10 million licensing fee and pay an effective tax rate of 36 percent.
