Pennsylvania’s retail sportsbooks have recorded a solid performance in April, attracting over $36.8m in bets during the month according to PlayPennsylvania.com analysts.

The vast majority of bets placed at the retail sportsbooks came as a result of baseball’s first full month, the Final Four, and the beginning of the NBA and NHL playoffs. The amount of wagers placed dropped by 17 per cent from March’s $44.5m, but this record performance was largely attributed to NCAA’s March Madness.

“The launch of online sports betting will give the first real window into the overall strength of the industry,” said Jessica Welman, sports betting analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “Online sports betting will ultimately transform the market and put it more in line with Nevada and New Jersey, the country’s two largest sports betting markets.”

With the state expected to legalize an online sports betting app within the coming weeks, and it is expected that more online sportsbooks will follow suit swiftly after. Assuming that punters in the Keystone state will take to online betting in a similar way to their New Jersey neighbours, the online sports betting will be a game-changer.

“There is no reason to believe that Pennsylvania bettors will behave significantly different than New Jersey in their preference for online sports betting products,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com.

“The convenience and ease of use of sports betting apps make them appealing to most bettors. And having established operators will help get the online market off on the right foot.”

Bets placed across the state generated $4.2m in revenue,generating $1.5m in tax for the state government.

Rivers Casino led the way in attracting over $8.2m in bets, followed by SugarHouse Casino which generated $7.9m and Parx Casino which racked up $6.9m.

“We expect Rivers Casino to remain strong in the retail market, but online betting will change the market’s dynamics,” Welman said. “The May report will be interesting to see.”