Canada

PlayPennsylvania.com: Sportsbooks fall short of record-setting pace in November

Published

5 years ago

December 18, 2020

Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks produced their second-best monthly handle ever and set a new revenue mark in November. But November’s results still missed the state’s record set in October, a surprising result considering neighboring New Jersey catapulted to an all-jurisdiction record in the same month, according to PlayPennsylvania analysts.

“So much has worked in favor of Pennsylvania’s online sportsbooks this fall, but a lack of NBA, NHL, and college basketball games, along with the struggles of Penn State, an Eagles bye week, and a Steelers game postponed to December, conspired to slow bettors in November,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayPennsylvania.com. “With record revenue and the second-best handle in state history, it was still a great month for the industry. And I suspect that Pennsylvania will be back to setting record handles again in December.”

Pennsylvania’s online and retail sportsbooks reached $491.9 million in November, according to official data released Thursday. November’s wagers were up 35.7% from $316.5 million in November 2019 but fell short of the $525.8 million record set in October.

Operator revenue before adjustments was particularly strong, reaching a record $48.5 million in November despite taking in less in wagers. That topped the former record of $47.8 million set in October and was up 235.8% from $17.5 million in November 2019. November revenue yielded $12.7 million in state taxes and another $747,005 in local share assessments.

Only New Jersey, which shattered the all-jurisdiction record with $931 million in November wagers, and Nevada have ever posted a more lucrative month. But the gap between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the nation’s largest market, widened in November after the Garden State accepted $931.6 million in wagers

“November’s results show that each state is different in what are unprecedented times, and the relatively high win rate by sportsbooks may have dissuaded some bettors,” said Valerie Cross, analyst at PlayPennsylvania.com. “Ultimately, though, record revenues are particularly important for the industry and for the state, which is relying on online gaming revenue more than ever.”

Online betting accounted for 91%, or $447.4 million, of the state’s handle in November, which is up from 89.8% in October. FanDuel Sportsbook/Valley Forge Casino remained the market leader with $176.7 million in online bets, down 2.3% from $181 million wagered in October. Those bets produced $15.1 million in taxable revenue, up from $14.7 million in October.

DraftKings/The Meadows was in its familiar second position in November, producing $109.9 million in bets, down from $121 million in October. That yielded $6.9 million in taxable revenue. The race for second tightened slightly with Penn National’s Barstool-branded app. In just its second full month since launching, Barstool/Hollywood Casino generated $55.7 million in bets, down from $61 million, which yielded $3.5 million in taxable revenue.

“The Barstool app has been successful in shaking up the market, becoming the first online operator to legitimately challenge the stranglehold that FanDuel and DraftKings have had on Pennsylvania’s market,” Gouker said. “What the Penn National/Barstool partnership has done has not only altered the Keystone State, but it has served notice in other jurisdictions that it is indeed a force to be reckoned with.”

The leaders were followed by:

BetRivers/Rivers-Pittsburgh (28.1 million handle, up from $26.1 million; $975,843 revenue, down from $1.5 million)
Fox Bet/Mount Airy ($28.1 million handle, down from $28.2 million; $1.6 million, up from $1.1 million)
Parx Casino ($19.4 million handle, down from $21.7 million; $2.1 million revenue, even with October)
PlaySugarHouse/Rivers-Philadelphia ($19.4 million handle, down from $21.4 million; $917,164 in revenue, down from $1.5 million)
Unibet/Mohegan Sun Pocono ($8.2 million handle, down from $9.9 million; $194,793 revenue, up from $101,458)
Caesars/Harrah’s ($1.1 million handle, even with October; $58,141 revenue, down from $66,241)
BetAmerica/Presque Isle Downs ($957,165 handle, up from $912,236; $8,632 revenue, down from $15,076)

Retail sportsbooks, which have since been shut down, hit $44.5 million in bets in November, down from $53.5 million in October. Sportsbooks won $6.2 million on those bets, down from $6.3 million. The top retail sportsbook was Parx Casino with $9.2 million in bets.

Online casinos and poker

Online casinos and poker rooms continued their hot streak, narrowly hitting another high in November with $59.77 million in gross operator revenue, or $2 million per day, over the 30 days of November. That was up from the record $59.76 million, or $1.9 million per day, produced over the 31 days of October.

State and local governments were a big winner, too, receiving $16.2 million in state taxes from online casino and poker revenue and another $3.2 million in local share assessments from November’s revenue.

“Online casinos have become one of Pennsylvania’s most reliable revenue streams,” Cross said. “As winter takes hold and retail casinos closed, the best months for online casinos are almost assuredly yet to come.”

Highlights from November:

Online table games and slots generated $57.4 million in revenue on $2.3 billion in bets, which is up from $2.2 billion in bets in October.
Rivers-Philadelphia, which includes PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers casinos, topped the online casino market with $16.6 million in revenue, even with October, on $602.8 million in wagers, which was up from $590.5 million in wagers.
Penn National, which includes the DraftKings casino, hit $15.7 million in revenue on a market-leading $675 million in wagers, up from $15.5 million in revenue and $664.6 million in wagers in October.
Mount Airy/PokerStars, the lone poker operator in the state, generated poker revenue of $2.4 million, even with October.

About the PlayUSA.com Network:
The PlayUSA.com Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states, PlayUSA.com and its state-focused branches produce daily original reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online gaming options for consumers. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.

Canada

IGSA Welcomes New Partner Members: Focal Research and RGC Canada

Published

3 days ago

April 9, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

igsa-welcomes-new-partner-members:-focal-research-and-rgc-canada

As part of a new responsible gaming initiative, the International Gaming Standards Association (IGSA) has welcomed two new Partner Members, Focal Research Consultants and The Responsible Gambling Council, both from Canada.

IGSA President Mark Pace said: “IGSA is excited to welcome our new partners in Responsible Gaming. We are looking to work with organizations that are truly dedicated to doing good in the RG space. There is a lot of time, energy and money being spent in this area and we want to leverage the incredible work being done in an effort to amplify its positive effect.”

Tracy Schrans, Co-Founder and President of Focal Research, said: “We are pleased to partner with IGSA on this important initiative. Drawing on over three decades of applied research, responsible gambling evaluation, and player protection, we look forward to collaborating with IGSA members to advance practical evidence-based industry standards for keeping players safe.”

“Advancing industry standards for player protection depends on collaboration across the full ecosystem. With deep expertise in standards development, applied research, and harm prevention, RGC is pleased to work alongside IGSA members to develop practical, implementable standards that strengthen player protection in meaningful ways,” said Sarah McCarthy, CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC).

The post IGSA Welcomes New Partner Members: Focal Research and RGC Canada appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Boris Gartner

LALIGA Announces Multi-year Partnership with Polymarket

Published

3 days ago

April 9, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

laliga-announces-multi-year-partnership-with-polymarket

LALIGA North America has announced a multi-year partnership with Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, becoming the first European soccer league to do so.

As the Official and Exclusive Prediction Market Partner of LALIGA in the US and Canada, Polymarket will offer LALIGA fans the ability to engage with Spain’s premier soccer league and its stars at an unprecedented level.

“Soccer’s growth, especially in North America, is spearheaded by young, diverse and multicultural audiences who consume the game across multiple screens, so it’s our goal to continue to engage these demographics in new and unique ways. It’s imperative we go beyond traditional engagement efforts in order to bring these audiences closer to the beautiful game than ever before, and we couldn’t think of a better partner than Polymarket to achieve that,” said Boris Gartner, Relevent CEO & Partner.

For LALIGA North America, the partnership with Polymarket is a testament to the long-term investment and growth in the region as a result of the 20-year joint venture between LALIGA and Relevent launched in 2018. Polymarket joins a robust roster of regional partners including Walmart, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, Verizon, Remitly, and Panini, among others.

The multi-year partnership with Polymarket includes premium broadcast visibility, fan-focused digital and social programming, and exclusive fan experiences such as VIP match hospitality and virtual meet-and-greets with LALIGA legends. Polymarket will also receive exclusive rights to use LALIGA and club intellectual property in connection with LALIGA matches.

Through this partnership, LALIGA and Polymarket will collaborate to establish a responsible and transparent framework that promotes innovative fan participation while upholding the highest standards of sporting integrity, leveraging Polymarket’s recently announced next-generation sports integrity platform launched in partnership with Palantir Technologies and TWG AI.

“Our goal is to give fans a more expressive way to follow the game, where opinions on players, matches, and season outcomes can be reflected in real time. Partnering with LALIGA brings that level of interaction to one of the most passionate global fanbases and introduces a new, more dynamic way for North American audiences to engage with the league,” said Shayne Coplan, Founder and CEO of Polymarket.

Polymarket has rapidly established itself as the prediction market partner of choice for major sports leagues, having announced partnerships with MLB, NHL, UFC, and MLS, which includes serving as the exclusive and official prediction market for MLS Cup, MLS All-Star, and Leagues Cup.

The post LALIGA Announces Multi-year Partnership with Polymarket appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Bede Gaming

OLG Launches Innovative New React Native Mobile App with Bede Gaming

Published

5 days ago

April 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

olg-launches-innovative-new-react-native-mobile-app-with-bede-gaming

Bede Gaming is proud to continue its partnership with Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation (OLG), which is now delivering an enhanced experience to its OLG.ca mobile customers across the province after successfully transitioning to the Bede Gaming React Native App.

The upgraded app, built for fast and seamless omnichannel performance, provides an exceptional player experience that leverages a data-efficient design model.

With over 1 million monthly app users, the lightweight network delivery and core functionality of Bede’s technical solution ensures an accessible and high-quality player experience across devices, even during peak traffic periods.

Structured with a flexible foundation for future development, ongoing app enhancements will now be delivered quickly and consistently across device types. In addition, the new app uses one build for all devices, making it much more operationally efficient and cost effective, and far easier for the Ontario operator to implement and manage future changes.

The new agile solution is also highly scalable and customisable, offering the flexibility to build a bespoke mobile set-up that’s truly brand-tailored and easily self-managed by operator admins. With direct connection into Bede’s full platform capabilities, engaging in-house product suite, and catalogue of third-party integrations, the new app eliminates the need for additional integration steps, significantly improves speed to market, and enables a fast response to changing player behaviours and trends.

Given online gambling is regulated on a province-to-province basis in Canada, the new app will also help OLG continue to provide a responsible and compliant iGaming service through geolocation technology powered by mkodo’s GeoLocs product, leveraging robust location management tools to ensure a seamless and fully regulated experience for players across Ontario.

Following the transition to Bede’s React Native App, OLG has reported a smooth and successful launch, with a carefully planned rollout and no impact to the customer experience.

Dave Pridmore, Chief Gaming Officer at OLG, said: “We’re delighted with how quickly and efficiently the transition to Bede’s React Native app has been – and the fact there’s been no disruption for our existing OLG.ca players speaks volumes about the impressive teamwork shown on both sides. The intuitive experience built and well-considered support are representative of the high quality of work we’ve come to expect from our partners at Bede Gaming.

“As OLG continues to prioritise our players’ experiences and expectations, we look forward to implementing even more market-leading enhancements throughout our ongoing digital growth.”

Further phases of strategic enhancements applied to the app’s user journey will deliver continual user improvements, supporting a more streamlined customer experience that encourages returning traffic.

With increasing demand across the industry for seamless omnichannel gaming experiences, having this degree of personalisation, accessibility and smooth user journeys offers an increasingly significant role in player retention.

“The successful roll-out of our React Native App is testament to Bede’s continued commitment to our partnership with OLG and further proof of the passion we have for providing operational efficiencies to their team,” said Andrew Humphreys, Chief Product Engineering Officer at Bede Gaming. “I’m excited about the additional competitive value that our Bede App will be able to offer; our flexible and cost-efficient solution will empower OLG to expand their outreach and capabilities in the mobile-first market.”

The post OLG Launches Innovative New React Native Mobile App with Bede Gaming appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.