Bolstered by a record-handle month for DraftKings, the Bay State set a new mark for dollars wagered in September.
Key Takeaways
- Massachusetts sports betting bested December 2024 by more than $50 million.
- DraftKings had a monster handle of over $400 million.
- No Bay State operator obtained a double-digit hold in September.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently reported that online and retail sportsbooks generated $800.3 million in bets for the month, more than $50 million better than the previous handle record set in December 2024. Behind the first full month of the NFL and college football, as well as the end of the MLB regular season, wagering increased year-over-year by 17.9%.
The Bay State currently ranks fourth in handle among U.S. states that have reported September revenue, and Massachusetts accepted just $50 million less than third-place Pennsylvania and over $110 million more than North Carolina.
DraftKings alone accounted for over half of the dollars wagered, setting a new record for online operators with a $409.6-million handle, surpassing its previous mark of $384.2 million from November 2024.
The mobile sportsbook’s handle spiked 15.3% compared to September 2024, and DraftKings more than doubled FanDuel’s September handle of $192.6 million.
Where’s the profit?
September’s record handle resulted in $54.3 million in gross revenue, representing a 28% year-over-year decrease. Despite all of that wagering, sportsbooks were unable to turn even the industry-standard hold of 7%. The 6.8% win rate was down from the previous September’s 11.1%, and it’s one of the lowest holds ever in Massachusetts.
The Bay State isn’t the only jurisdiction to struggle. Early NFL results went the way of bettors, although operators had a better run as the first month of action went along. However, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Michigan are among a list of states that produced less revenue in September than in the same month in 2024.
Massachusetts operators hauled in more gross revenue ($57.1 million) in August, when the betting volume was down more than 45% from September’s handle.
Adjusted revenue in September reached $52.3 million, leading to $10.4 million in tax revenue for the Bay State.
Low holds
| Online Operator | September Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $409.6 million | $27.1 million |
| FanDuel | $192.6 million | $16.4 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $83.1 million | $3.3 million |
| BetMGM | $51.3 million | $4.2 million |
| Caesars | $24.6 million | $1.1 million |
| ESPN BET | $24 million | $1.4 million |
No Massachusetts online sports betting operators obtained a double-digit win rate in September, which led to $53.9 million in gross revenue from a $789.3-million mobile handle. DraftKings, which produced the highest gross revenue with $27.1 million, produced a 6.61% hold, the fourth-highest for the month.
FanDuel's nearly $200-million handle led to $16.4 million in gross revenue thanks to the month’s best win rate of 8.5%. BetMGM had the second-best hold of 8.2% from a $51.3-million handle to make over $4 million in profit. Fanatics had a better handle than BetMGM, but it won back less than 4% of the $83.1 million wagered.
Caesars edged ESPN BET by about $600,000 in handle, but the PENN Entertainment platform used a 5.9% hold to produce a higher gross revenue of $1.4 million. Bally Bet got above a 6.6% hold on a $4.1-million handle.
Retail revenue plummets
Only two of the Bay State’s three retail casino sportsbooks reported positive revenue, which plummeted 70% compared to the same month in 2024. Encore Boston Harbor made $234,245 from a leading $5.1-million handle, a 4.6% hold.
Plainridge Park turned just a 3.7% win rate on a $4.8-million handle, while MGM Springfield made no profit, for the second consecutive month, from a $986,967 September handle.
