The Old Line State grew year-over-year sports betting revenue by 17.3% in April.
Key takeaways
- Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported a 5.6% year-over-year sports betting handle increase.
- College basketball cost sportsbooks over $775,000 for the month.
- Revenue came from pro basketball, baseball, and parlays.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported Monday that online and retail operators generated a $59.2 million profit from a $513.7 million handle, a 5.6% increase from April 2024. The 11.5% April hold was also up from 10.4% the same month last year.
Sportsbooks were glad to get past March, which had one of the lowest holds in Maryland sports betting history. NCAA tournament favorites won at a high rate, hurting profits. That trend continued in April as the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament Final Four and National Championship Game generated $7.9 million in wagers but cost sportsbooks over $775,000 in losses.
Other sports performed well for the house, resulting in a nearly 24% month-over-month gross revenue increase. Online sports betting accounted for $501.4 million of the total handle while 11 mobile operators hauled in $58.8 million in gross income. The Old Line State’s 12 retail sportsbooks produced a 2.9% hold from $12.3 million in wagers.
Maryland collected $6.3 million in tax revenue, pushing the all-time total over $160 million.
Sport profits
The end of the regular season and the start of the NBA playoffs helped pro basketball lead individual sports betting with a $116.8 million handle, 22.7% of all April wagers. A mild 5.2% hold generated $6.1 million of Maryland’s total monthly gross income.
Baseball was second with $5.6 million in profit on a $75.5 million handle. Tennis made operators over $2 million for the month, while soccer had 3.4% of handle but the highest individual hold, 10.4% on sports with at least $1 million wagered.
As usual, parlays were where Maryland sports betting sites made their money. A 20.5% hold on a $198.3 million handle led to $40.7 million in revenue.
FanDuel continues strong run
| Online Operator | April Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $224.6 million | $30 million |
| DraftKings | $156.9 million | $17 million |
| BetMGM | $40.4 million | $4.1 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $33.5 million | $3 million |
| Caesars | $21.7 million | $2.2 million |
| ESPN BET | $13.4 million | $1.4 million |
FanDuel generated $224.6 million in wagers, the most in Maryland during April. The online operator produced $200 million in handles every month in 2025. A $30 million revenue was a $7 million increase from March, thanks to a 13.7% hold.
DraftKings brought in $156.9 million in bets and used a 10.9% win rate to reach $17 million in gross income in April, up from $14.4 million in the previous month. Like FanDuel and DraftKings, BetMGM’s April handle was lower than March, but the online book still generated $40.4 million in bets. A double-digit hold led to higher profits.
Fanatics Sportsbook saw a slight month-over-month revenue increase to $3 million on a $33.5 million April handle. Caesars was fifth with $21.7 million in wagers for the month, while ESPN BET was the only other operator with a handle over $10 million.
Chasing prediction markets
A month after lawmakers went after sweepstakes gaming with a bill that would ban operators, Maryland regulators turned their attention to prediction market platforms that offer sports-event outcome contracts.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission issued cease-and-desist orders to three companies in early April. Kalshi, one of the most popular prediction market companies, responded by filing a lawsuit against Maryland to keep operating there. Kalshi claims it's a federally-regulated platform and state regulators don't control it.
