Anthony Procida enjoys betting on his favorite sports teams — namely the Minnesota Vikings and Penn State Nittany Lions.
But Procida, 35, of Irwin said he knows himself too well to try out online sportsbooks, which accounted for 95% of sports bets in 2024, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
“There’s like 900 different sports gambling apps you can download, and they all give you something free to get in,” said Procida, who placed a bet at one of Live Casino Pittsburgh’s FanDuel kiosks Thursday. “And that gets you in the door. But then you’re in trouble after that, because you’re going to spend all your money on the apps. That’s why I come in person.”
Statewide gambling revenue reached an all-time monthly high in November, according to the Gaming Control Board. Sports wagering from fans such as Procida accounted for nearly 16% of the profit.
The board reported a November revenue of about $623 million — up about $21 million from the previous record achieved last May. The profit also rose nearly 11% from November 2024, which at the time set a monthly revenue record of $562 million.
Sports wagering revenues increased more than 27% from November 2024 to November 2025 — the largest jump among any gambling category, according to the board.
The growing dollars directed toward the state’s sportsbooks is not without impact to the bettors themselves.
Nearly 20 million adults in the United States reported experiencing at least one problematic gambling behavior many times in the past year, according to a survey published in July by the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Not all 20 million people reported an addiction. Problematic behavior could include those who gambled on three or more activities each week.
There also has been a 23% increase in internet searches nationally for gambling addiction support from 2018 to mid-2024, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in February. The study examined online search queries — from January 2016 to June 2024 — mentioning the words gambling and addiction, addict, anonymous or hotline.
‘I don’t want to just throw money away’
That’s why Procida limits himself to betting in person at the Hempfield casino — and just $20 at a time.
Procida also avoids parlays — bets that link two or more individual wagers.
“I just don’t want to waste money,” he said. “I work hard. I don’t want to just throw money away.”
Logan Carns directed the money he won betting on a college football game this week toward wagering on the three NFL games slated for Christmas Day. The opportunity to earn some extra cash drew him in.
“I’d like to say that I can make a wise man’s guess,” said Carns, 29, of Latrobe.
But Carns admits the move is not without risk.
“I actually think I’m pretty good at it,” he said, “but it’s all luck. At the end of the day, it’s all luck.”
He continued: “For me, it’s having a cap — $100, $200 tops. Because if you’re going to lose, you don’t want to lose too much money. Then, it can financially hurt you.”
Sportsbooks win at bettors’ expense
The amount wagered on sports did not change as significantly as the resulting revenue. From November 2024 to November 2025, the amount wagered on sports statewide rose just shy of 6%, or $55 million.
That can be attributed to the volatility in sports wagering, said Doug Harbach, communications director for the state Gaming Control Board.
The same amount of money could be wagered on sports in two separate months, Harbach said. But if more bettors win during one of those months, sportsbooks will receive less revenue in return.
Take the records of Pennsylvania’s professional football teams, for example.
The two teams lost a combined five games in November. The Steelers came up short against the Chargers, Bears and Bills, and the Eagles lost to the Cowboys and Bears. The Steelers lost just once in November last year, to the Browns; and the Eagles, who went on to win Super Bowl LIX, remained undefeated that month.
Sports fans tend to bet in favor of their preferred team, Harbach said — a phenomenon he saw when the Eagles lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
“The operators retained a significant amount of money because Pennsylvanians were voting on their home team,” he said. “They tend to vote on their in-state teams more heavily than other teams.
“When those teams aren’t producing quite as well or winning or even hitting the spread, the bettors lose more and the operators win more.”
Despite the risk, Procida still enjoys sports betting from time to time.
“It just makes the games more fun to watch,” he said.