Maryland Sports Betting Rebounds With Strong Handle, Revenue in March

Maryland sports betting metrics rebounded back strongly in March after a quiet February. Maryland Lottery and Gaming announced sports betting handle of $536.7 million in March, a significant increase from February’s tally of $442.5 million. It was the fourth time in five months that Maryland has recorded betting handle of more than $500 million in a calendar month, with February being the only exception.

Gross revenue for March was $45.1 million at a hold rate of 8.4%. Taxable revenue, which was the amount remaining after deducting payouts, promotional wagers, and other amounts, finished at $32.3 million. In total, Maryland collected $4.8 million in sports betting tax at a rate of 15% (online betting contributed $4.75 million in tax while retail books chipped in with $103,311 in tax).

Maryland reported that March’s handle was an increase of close to 40% year-on-year after the state picked up $385.9 million in wagers in March 2023. Gross revenue, however, was down compared to last year. Gross revenue in March 2023 was $47.5 million, which made up 12.3% of the handle. Online betting made up $522.1 million in handle, while retail added $14.6 million in wagers.

According to the official Maryland Lottery and Gaming portal: 

“Sports wagering contributions go to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, which supports public education programs. The $4.8 million contribution to the state last month was 8.6% less than the $5.3 million total in March 2023.

Sports wagering data is tracked and reported based on the State of Maryland’s fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30. During the first nine months of Fiscal Year 2024 (July 2023 through March 2024), sports wagering has contributed $41,905,251 to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund.”

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FanDuel Continues Dominance in Maryland

FanDuel collected $247.8 million in sports betting handle in March and paid back $221.2 million to customers, resulting in a hold of 10.7% and gross revenue of $26.5 million. After spending $6.3 million on promotional expenses, FanDuel managed to collect $19.6 million in taxable profits.

DraftKings didn’t have as good a hold or handle. The company managed to collect $155.1 million in wagers and revenue of $11.5 million at a hold rate of 7.4%. March marked the seventh straight month of gross revenue in excess of $10 million for DraftKings. After spending $3.4 million on promotional expenses, DraftKings’ taxable profit was $7.7 million.

BetMGM was third in Maryland, collecting $42.8 million in wagers with revenue of $2.9 million at a hold rate of 6.7%. Interestingly, BetMGM did not spend any money on promotional expenses, finishing the month with $2.7 million in taxable revenue after accounting for other deductions.

ESPN BET had a subpar month, with handle of $31.9 million and a hold rate of just 1.5%. Overall, the company finished with gross revenue of close to $500,000 but did not have any taxable winnings.

Another company with a low hold rate was Caesars Sportsbook, managing to retain just 4.7% of its $21.3 million in betting handle for March. Caesars spent a little over $200,000 in promotional expenses and was left with $756,935 in taxable winnings.

Basketball Dominates Wagering In Maryland

Pro basketball, majorly the NBA, comprised close to 30% of the bets in Maryland in March, with handle of over $160 million. Total hold finished at 3.5%, with operators picking up a small profit of $5.6 million.

NCAA basketball picked up more than 15% of all the bets in the state in March. More than $83.6 million was bet on college basketball. At a hold rate of 3.2%, operators picked up a profit of $2.6 million.

The most wagered category in Maryland was parlays, which made up 33.7% of the betting chart. Operators collected a huge profit on such combination bets with a hold rate of almost 17%, which generated more than $30 million in profits on betting handle of $181.1 million.

Tennis was another profitable sport for operators as has been the case around the country. A total of $29 million was bet on tennis events in March (5.4% of all bets placed in Maryland), which generated a profit of $2.15 million with a hold rate of 7.4%.

Ice hockey, mostly the NHL, and pro baseball (primarily the MLB), had similar numbers in March. Both sports collected handle over $12 million apiece, which comprised a combined 5% of all bets in the state. Pro baseball had a win rate of 6.7% while ice hockey had a profit of 3.9%.

Motorsports generated the highest hold percentage in Maryland, at almost 30%. Only $380,000 was wagered but operators still picked up a profit of $112,559 on motor racing events.

READ MORE:

• Maryland Places Ban on College Player Props
• Maryland Records 30% Growth in February Sports Betting Handle
• US Sports Betting Revenue Tracker