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PlayPennsylvania.com: Sports wagering falls to lowest level since July 2020

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4 years ago

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Pennsylvania’s sports betting volume slipped in July to the lowest level since July 2020, falling to $304 million and continuing a slowing trend in July that has affected nearly every major U.S. market, according to PlayPennsylvania, which tracks regulated online gaming and sports betting in the state.

“Even with the NBA Finals and the Olympics to help boost the schedule this year, bettors in Pennsylvania and beyond just don’t engage sportsbooks as much during July,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for the PlayUSA.com network, which includes PlayPennsylania.com. “This year in particular saw a surge in nationwide travel, which means people were occupied with family vacations and other summer activities. That said, sportsbooks cannot wait for football season to ramp up.”

Bettors placed $304.4 million in wagers at Pennsylvania’s online and retail sportsbooks in July, down 27.6% from $420.2 million in June, according to official data released Monday. July’s handle was up 84.7% from $164.8 million in July 2020, which was the last month with a handle of less than $364 million and featured the relaunch of baseball and the NBA after a months-long hiatus.

Lower volume sapped gross gaming revenue, which fell 35.3% to $27.5 million from $42.5 million in June, but up 101.3% from $13.7 million in July 2020. The month’s gross receipts led to $19.9 million in taxable revenue, which yielded $6.8 million in state taxes and $397,124 in local share assessments.

The drop in wagering has historical context. July was the lowest volume month in the U.S. in both 2018 and 2019, before the pandemic permuted sports betting data in 2020.

“The time zone difference dampened interest in the Olympics, but they were likely never going to move the needle significantly anyway,” said Valerie Cross, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “The Phillies playing better almost certainly helped. But seasonal dips this time of year are nothing to be concerned about.”

Online betting accounted for $275.4 million in wagers, making up 90.5% of the state’s total handle in July. Once again, FanDuel topped the online market with $106.7 million in online wagering — down 34.3% from $162.5 million in June but capturing 38.7% of all online wagers in July. FanDuel’s gross gaming revenue from online betting fell to $12.3 million from $19.7 million in June, yielding $9.5 million in taxable revenue.

DraftKings followed with a $66.2 million handle, down from $86.0 million in June. July’s handle produced $4.0 million in gross revenue, down from $6.4 million in June, and $2.8 million in taxable revenue.

Penn National’s Barstool-branded app finished fourth in the state, behind BetMGM, with a $24.5 million handle in July, down from $31.9 million in June. Those bets led to $2.3 million in gross revenue and $1.7 million in taxable revenue.

The online leaders were followed by:

  • BetMGM ($29.0 million handle, down from $37.4 million in June; $2.3 million in gross gaming revenue, up from $2.2 million)
  • BetRivers ($14.5 million handle, down from $18.5 million; $1.3 million GGR, down from $1.4 million)
  • Fox Bet ($10.0 million handle, down from $12.6 million; $709,376 GGR, down from $934,728)
  • SugarHouse ($9.0 million handle, down from $11.3 million; $680,099 in GGR, down from $918,873)
  • Parx Casino ($7.9 million handle, down from $9.8 million; $745,087 GGR, down from $1.1 million)
  • Unibet ($4.5 million handle, down from $4.7 million; $316,936 GGR, down from $376,848)
  • TwinSpires ($2.1 million handle, down from $2.2 million; $179,276 GGR, down from $194,104)
  • Caesars ($947,532 handle, down from $1.5 million; -$126,967 GGR, down from $56,986)
  • Wind Creek ($406,259 handle, down from $771,648; $6,284 GGR, down from $33,801)
  • Betway ($563,481 handle; up from $14,883; -$32,239 GGR, down from $3,655)

Meanwhile, retail sportsbooks took in $29.0 million in wagers in June, down from $40.9 million in June. Those bets yielded $2.7 million in gross gaming revenue, down 45.4% from $4.9 million in June. Rivers Philadelphia topped the retail market with $5.9 million in bets, ahead of Parx Casino’s $4.0 million handle.

“The pandemic will continue to be the most important factor for the retail market for the foreseeable future,” Gouker said. “As the latest surge shows, the hope that retail sports betting would return to normal by football season seems overly optimistic.”

Online casinos and poker

Gross gaming revenue from online casinos and poker rooms rose 3.6% to $104.5 million from $100.8 million in June. Year-over-year, iGaming gross revenue is up 52.9% from $68.4 million in July 2020. July marks the fifth straight month surpassing $100 million in gross revenue.

July’s gross revenue was whittled to $88.7 million in taxable revenue, down from $88.9 million in June. That still produced $38.2 million in state and local taxes.

Online casinos and poker rooms have now produced $508.1 million in state and local taxes over the more than two years since launching in July 2019. Only New Jersey has wrung more tax revenue from online casinos and poker with $662.6 million — but that market launched in November 2013, nearly six years before Pennsylvania.

“As closely as it now tracks with New Jersey, no state benefits more from online gambling than Pennsylvania,” Cross said. “There was a lot of concern in the industry that regulators had initially set tax rates too high, and a slow start to the industry seemed to back that up. Now it seems that Pennsylvania’s aggressive taxing has been a clear win for the state.”

Other highlights from July:

  • Wagering on online casino games reached $3.2 billion in July, down from $1.8 billion in July 2020.
  • Online casino and poker rooms generated $3.4 million in gross gaming revenue per day over the 31 days of July, even with June.
  • Penn National, which includes the DraftKings, BetMGM, Barstool, and Hollywood casinos, topped the market with $36.9 million in revenue. Rivers Philadelphia, which includes SugarHouse, Borgata, and BetRivers casinos, was second with $30.9 million.
  • Poker generated $2.6 million in revenue, down from $3.0 million in July 2020. Mount Airy/PokerStars topped operators with $2.0 million.







																											

													

																												

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Canada

												
Bragg Gaming Group Enteres into New Financing Agreement with Bank of Montreal

																																					

														

																													

														

															

																
Published
 3 days ago 
on
 September 15, 2025
															

															

																
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Bragg Gaming Group, a leading global B2B iGaming content and technology provider, announced it has entered into a new financing agreement with the Bank of Montreal (BMO), a leading North American financial institution, pursuant to which BMO has made available to the Company certain credit facilities in a maximum aggregate amount of up to US$6.0 million to support its ongoing working capital and general corporate requirements (the BMO Facilities).


In connection with the closing of the BMO Facilities, Bragg has successfully repaid in full the outstanding promissory note with entities controlled by Doug Fallon (the Prior Note Indebtedness). The new BMO Facilities replace the Prior Note Indebtedness, signalling a significant step in the Company’s financial strategy to partner with a major commercial bank to support its growth.


“We are very pleased to establish this new relationship with the Bank of Montreal, a recognized leader in financial services. This new credit facility strengthens our balance sheet and provides us with a flexible capital structure to execute our strategic plan. The ability to secure financing from a major North American bank underscores the confidence in our business and our long-term growth prospects. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with BMO,” said Robbie Bressler, CFO of Bragg Gaming Group.


The BMO Facilities are secured by, amongst other things, a first-ranking security interest over all of the assets of the Company and certain of its key operating subsidiaries, and are uncommitted and are repayable upon the earlier of (i) demand by BMO, (ii) the occurrence of certain insolvency events, and (iii) on the one-year anniversary of the closing date, unless a one-year extension is granted at BMO’s discretion.


The agreement includes customary legal and financial covenants, including a requirement for the Company to maintain a Total Funded Debt to EBITDA ratio not exceeding 2.50:1.00, and a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of not less than 1.25:1.00. These financial covenants are to be tested on a consolidated basis at the end of each fiscal quarter.


The Company currently expects to draw on the BMO Facilities in Canadian dollars, which would result in estimated borrowing costs of 6.9%–7.9% for Prime-based loans or 5.9%–6.9% for CORRA-based loans, depending on the period of the draw and the Company’s leverage ratio. Standby fees on the unused portion of the revolving facility will range from 0.75% to 1.75% per annum, depending on leverage.


Management believes that based on the terms of the BMO Facilities, the Company’s borrowing costs on an annualized basis will be less than half of its Prior Note Debt.


Matevž Mazij, CEO of Bragg Gaming Group, said: “Securing this BMO facility represents a critical milestone in our strategic plan to strengthen Bragg’s financial foundation and accelerate value creation for our shareholders. With our cybersecurity incident contained and our borrowing costs cut by more than half, we are laser-focused on executing our strategic shift toward higher-quality earnings. The Company is prioritizing margin and cash generation over lower-margin revenue, and synergies realized post-quarter end to become a leaner operation. We’ve already realized EUR 2 million in annualized synergies and are on track to achieve our 20% Adjusted EBITDA margin target for the second half of 2025.


“Our recent leadership additions in AI and innovation, combined with our expanding partnerships with operators like Fanatics and Hard Rock Digital, position us to pursue highly accretive growth opportunities methodically. The Company remains focused on growing the business in a sustainable and margin-accretive manner, with strong momentum in the proprietary content and technology pipeline positioning Bragg for long-term profitable growth.


“We understand the importance of delivering results for our shareholders, and our board and management team are fully aligned and committed to executing the strategic initiatives that will drive value. With improved financial flexibility, a strengthened operational foundation, and clear milestones ahead, we believe we have the right strategy and team in place to unlock Bragg’s full potential. We remain committed to maximizing shareholder value as we build sustainable, profitable growth and ensure our strong operational performance translates into appropriate market valuation.”


Cyber Breach Update


The Company has also provided an update on its previously announced cybersecurity incident initially detected on August 16, 2025.


Immediately following detection, Bragg took appropriate steps to mitigate any potential impact of the breach. With the assistance of independent cybersecurity experts, the Company has followed industry best practices and considers that the incident is now resolved.


There continues to be no indication that any personal information was affected and the breach has had no impact on the ability of the Company to continue its operations. Bragg has also provided assurances to its customers regarding the security of its game titles. The Company has experienced no negative impact on its revenue or profitability and does not expect that the cost of responding to the incident will have a material financial impact on the Company.


The Company has already applied knowledge gathered from the investigation of the event to enhance its cyber security defenses.




The post Bragg Gaming Group Enteres into New Financing Agreement with Bank of Montreal appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

													

													

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Betty

												
Thunderkick commits to growth in Ontario with Betty partnership

																																					

														

																													

														

															

																
Published
 1 week ago 
on
 September 10, 2025
															

															

																
By
  															

														

													

																							

											

																																							

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Independent slots studio Thunderkick has agreed a deal with Ontario-based operator Betty to supply the rapidly growing online casino with a diverse collection of globally popular titles.


Betty, an official partner of sporting franchises Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, has risen to prominence since its 2022 establishment, when it was built following the consultation of 300 casino players to create the optimal iGaming environment.


Distinguishing itself from North American competitors by catering specifically to slot enthusiasts rather than sports bettors, the operator has curated a portfolio of 2,800 games, hand-picked to deliver customers maximum entertainment value.


Thunderkick’s content is the latest to be integrated into Betty’s online casino, and the agreement will see a selection of its most popular titles, including The Wildos 2, Midas Golden Touch 3, and Esqueleto Explosivo 3, made available to a greater number of Ontarian players.


Thunderkick marked its debut in the Canadian province in Q2 of 2024, and has since partnered with a network of leading operators to improve its market position. The collaboration with Betty will further amplify its visibility in a key jurisdiction as the provider looks to reinforce its reputation as a global slot developer.


Svante Sahlström, CCO at Thunderkick, said: “It’s our mission at Thunderkick to go deeper, not wider, in 2025. That means forging meaningful, lasting relationships in target markets as opposed to securing as many commercial deals as possible.


“Since entering Ontario over 12 months ago, we have worked tirelessly to enhance our presence in the province, and working with leading brands such as Betty allows us to bring our unique games to a deeper pool of Canadian players.”


Paraskeva Smirnova, Casino Operations Manager at Betty, added: “Betty’s USP has always been our drive to build a slot portfolio with the very best titles from the industry’s most creative suppliers.


“Thunderkick’s passion for slot development is there for all to see, and the introduction of its games to our casino further elevates the consumer experience.”




The post Thunderkick commits to growth in Ontario with Betty partnership appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

													

													

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BCLC

												
Save the Date: BCLC’s New Horizons in Safer Gambling Conference Returns November 2026

																																					

														

																													

														

															

																
Published
 1 week ago 
on
 September 10, 2025
															

															

																
By
  															

														

													

																							

											

																																							

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BCLC is pleased to announce the return of the New Horizons in Safer Gambling Conference, taking place November 2–4, 2026, at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver.


This global event brings leading voices in research, policy and industry together to explore innovative approaches to safer gambling. Attendees can expect two days of forward-thinking dialogue, evidence-based insights and collaborative solutions to help shape the future of player health.


Sponsorship Opportunities Now Available


New to the 2026 conference, BCLC is excited to offer sponsorship opportunities to organizations that share BCLC’s passion for safer gambling. Benefits of sponsoring New Horizons 2026 include industry visibility, leadership recognition and meaningful engagement with a global audience. To learn more about sponsorship, please e-mail [email protected].


Registration and program details will be released later this fall.




The post Save the Date: BCLC’s New Horizons in Safer Gambling Conference Returns November 2026 appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

													

													

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