Maryland enjoyed one of its best months in terms of legal sports betting this October and there is a lot to look forward to this year.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming announced a handle of $483.1 million, the second highest on record (December 2022 had $497 million in bets).
“People love to bet on football, and that is certainly reflected in the handle this time of year,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming director John Martin.
Another potential reason for the uptick in wagers is the rare sports equinox where all four major sports were played on the same day (which happened on Oct. 30).
“The (Baltimore) Ravens’ success and college football are contributing factors, and there is a convergence of the seasons in October, with the baseball playoffs and World Series and the start of hockey and basketball," Martin added.
As Marylanders increased their wagers, the sportsbooks enjoyed another month of a double-digit hold. After September’s 11.9% win rate, October was slightly better with the house keeping 12.1%.
This meant that the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, the main beneficiary of the state’s 15% tax rate on gross revenue, saw its best month ever. October’s tax bill of $5.5 million beat out March’s $5.3 million (which had the first two rounds of March Madness).
FanDuel and DraftKings ahead of the pack
While Maryland hosts a wide variety of sportsbooks, there are two tiers separating the popular and less popular operators.
Maryland has 12 mobile sportsbooks, which accounts for 95.9% of the statewide action. From that, FanDuel and DraftKings dominate the online market. FanDuel reported an online handle of $210.5 million and DraftKings had $157.5 million. Together, the two giants saw 79% of the bets and no other operator saw $100 million in action.
BetMGM was third with $38.4 million and Caesars for fourth at $21.7 million.
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MGM tops retail market
While BetMGM was third in online wagers in Maryland, they were the most popular on the retail side. MGM National Harbor saw $5.6 million in bets while FanDuel’s Live! Casino came in a close second with $5.2 million. But MGM’s whopping 16% hold meant their revenue nearly doubled FanDuel.
Combined, these two sportsbooks saw more than 50% of the entire retail market, although Bingo World (BetRivers), Hollywood Casino (Barstool), Horseshoe Casino (Caesars), and Ocean Downs (Twinspires) all saw more than $1 million in bets.
