“There is no reason to believe that Pennsylvania sports bettors would be any different in their preference for online sports betting than those in New Jersey and Nevada,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for. The growing popularity of sports betting apps has also helped Nevada, which set a single-month record in March with a handle of $582.3 million, even with increased competition from other legal jurisdictions. In Nevada, approximately 65 percent of all sports bets are made online, according to analysts from, an affiliate site to. “The launch of sports betting apps will give us our first true look at Pennsylvania’s potential as a market, which we believe should rival New Jersey and eventually Nevada as the nation’s largest market.” “There is no question that the growth of the Pennsylvania sports betting market has been slowed by the delayed launch of online apps,” said Jessica Welman, sports betting analyst for.

The launch took place after state regulators ran several days of tests of the SugarHouse online systems, examining safeguards against underage gambling and geolocation systems to ensure wagering is within the state.

Several Pennsylvania sports betting apps and sites are expected to go live soon, according to analysts from. Pennsylvania’s six retail sports books have generated $125.6 million in wagers since November, but all observers agree this figure will be dwarfed by online and mobile wagering, just as in neighboring New Jersey-which generated nearly $300 million in handle in March alone, with around 80 percent of those bets made online. The nascent Pennsylvania sports betting market entered a new phase last week when SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia went live with the first online and mobile sports betting in the state.

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