Despite not having a full weekend of college football like last August, Massachusetts sports betting still grew by 5.3% in the late-summer month.
Key Takeaways
- Massachusetts sports betting produced its 13th consecutive $500-million handle.
- Year-over-year gross revenue fell 8.4% in August.
- Just one online sportsbook produced a double-digit hold.
With the way the fall calendar fell, operators didn’t get Week 1 of college football until September, but Week Zero games, NFL preseason, and MLB were enough to attract more wagering dollars.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) recently reported that the state’s online and retail sportsbooks combined to generate a handle of $571.2 million in August, up from $545.3 million during the same month last year.
Even without the World Cup to push action like in June and July, the handle stayed above $500 million for the 13th consecutive month.
Gross revenue, however, couldn’t keep up with the increased action. Operators won back 8.4%, down from 10.5% in August 2025, to produce $48.5 million, the lowest revenue haul in two years.
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Tax revenue falls
Online sportsbooks accounted for more than $566 million of the Bay State’s total handle in August and nearly all of the gross revenue. That led to taxable revenue of $47.1 million overall, filling Massachusetts coffers with $9.4 million.
The dip in Massachusetts revenue meant nearly $2 million less in taxes compared to in August 2025 for the Bay State, which surpassed $100 million year-to-date. The World Cup months contributed nearly $24 million to the state’s coffers.
Low holds
| Online Operator | August Handle | Gross Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $275.1 million | $23.5 million |
| FanDuel | $144.5 million | $13.2 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $62.3 million | $4.5 million |
| BetMGM | $48.8 million | $4 million |
| Caesars | $18.6 million | $1.2 million |
| theScore Bet | $14.3 million | $1.3 million |
Double-digit holds were hard to come by in August for Massachusetts online sports betting operators. Bally Bet, which produced only $335,852 in gross revenue, reached 11.7%. The rest of the mobile sportsbooks’ win rates stayed in single digits.
DraftKings held on to 8.5% from a dominating $275.1-million handle. FanDuel went over 9%, producing $13.2 million in gross revenue from $144.5 million in wagers, after nearly reaching 11% during the previous August, while theScore Bet was the only other operator to win back at least 9%.
Fanatics won back 7.2% from a $62.3-million handle that was up nearly 26% from the same month last year. BetMGM produced an 8.2% hold on just under $50 million in wagers, while Caesars had the lowest win rate in the state, failing to get to 6.5% on an $18.6-million handle.
Retail volume plummets
As expected with the loss of a college football weekend, retail sports betting was down 64% compared to August 2025, but in-person sportsbooks couldn’t complain too much because the win rate hit over 21%.
The $450,290 combined win by the Bay State’s three retail operators was still down 35% because of the volume loss. Both Boston Encore Harbor and Plainridge Park Casino surpassed $2 million in handle and $200,000 in gross revenue.
