Pennsylvania‘s online and retail sportsbooks combined to propel sports betting revenues to more than $500m for the first time in October. The new monthly high, and Pennsylvania’s third consecutive record month, also marked the two-year anniversary of legal sports wagering in the state as bettors swarmed sportsbooks for football, according to PlayPennsylvania.

In total, online and retail sportsbooks generated a record $525.8m in bets during the period, while handle was up 118% from $241.2m in October 2019, topping the previous record of $462.8m. 

October’s bets produced a record $47.8m in operator revenue, more than doubling the $19.1m in October 2019 and shattering the previous record of shattering the previous record $31.6m set in January. October’s revenue yielded $12.5m in state taxes and another $735,539 in local share assessments.

Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayPennsylvania.com, explained: “Local interest is a clear factor in the swell in betting this fall, pushing Pennsylvania to a record with a sports schedule in October that more resembled normal than any since March.

“Pennsylvania could conceivably catch Nevada in a matter of months to become the nation’s No. 2 market, especially if the Steelers continue to roll and the Eagles can somehow make a playoff run to spike local interest.”

Pennsylvania’s ascent into a sports betting powerhouse has been steady since launching in November 2018. In the 24 months since launching, sports betting has generated $4.3bn in wagers, $273.8m in sports betting revenue, and $77.1m in state taxes.

“With $4bn in wagers now, it seems like forever ago that Pennsylvania was plagued by a slow start, taking nearly a year to produce the state’s first $100m month,” said Valerie Cross, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. 

“That’s all ancient history now, as Pennsylvania’s large market and its increasing comfort with online sportsbooks has turned the Keystone State into a sports betting juggernaut poised to surpass Nevada in size soon.”

Online betting made up 89.8%, or $472.3m, of October’s total handle. FanDuel Sportsbook/Valley Forge Casino led online operators with $181m in bets, up 7.7% from $168m wagered in September. Those bets produced $14.7m in taxable revenue.

“For two years FanDuel and DraftKings have dominated the market, but the new Barstool-branded app seems to be offering the first real threat to the leaders’ market position,” Gouker added. “Whether or not Barstool can truly challenge, its rapid rise is unlike anything we’ve seen.”

Retail sportsbooks accepted $53.5m in bets in October, up from $48.7m in September. Rivers-Philadelphia led with $11.1m in bets and revenue of $1m.