Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported $5.6 million in state tax revenue generated from sports betting in August on Tuesday, putting the overall total above $100 million since the first wagers were accepted in December 2021.
Operators in the Old Line State generated $37.2 million in adjusted gross sports betting revenue for the month, which was taxed at 15%. That was more than double the $17 million reported in August 2023, with this year's total boosted by a sharp drop in deductions allowed for promotional credits and bonuses. Operators totaled just $1.1 million in such deductions, down 86.1% from the $8.8 million reported 12 months prior.
The state has collected $47.6 million in receipts through the first eight months of 2024, which is up $20.1 million from an AGR that has surged 73.3% higher year-over-year to $317 million. Maryland is the 14th state to surpass $100 million in state tax revenue in the post-PASPA era.
Handle also picked up notably compared to last year as the $377.4 million in accepted wagers was up 43.1% from the previous August and 13.2% from July. Maryland sportsbooks have totaled $3.54 billion handle this year, an increase of 37% compared to the first eight months of 2023.
FanDuel Continues to Roll
Running 2024 YTD Top 10 #SportsBetting handles by state (thru Aug. in CAPS)
1 NEW YORK $13.73B
2 New Jersey $7.41B
3 Illinois $6.59B
4 Ohio $4.59B
5 Penn. $4.44B
6 Nevada $4.22B
7 Mass. $3.96B
8 Arizona $3.78B
9 Virginia ~$3.7B
10 MARYLAND $3.54B#SportsBettingX#GamblingX— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) September 11, 2024
Operators statewide combined for a 10.4% hold in August, claiming $39.2 million in gross revenue. It was the fifth consecutive month the win rate eclipsed 10% and the 18th time in 22 months since Maryland launched mobile betting in November 2022.
Despite a soft August by its standards with an 11.4% hold, FanDuel had more than enough success to extend its streak of double-digit holds to nine months as it collected $18.3 million in gross revenue from $160.7 million handle.
That was enough to push FanDuel over $200 million in gross winnings for the year. It has a 13.8% hold versus Maryland bettors in 2024 and moved within $80 million of clearing $4 billion in all-time handle.
DraftKings was able to remain a clear No. 2 for revenue and handle, also notching a double-digit win rate in August at 10.5%. It claimed $12.5 million in gross revenue, an improvement of just over $70,000 from July. DraftKings has a 10.1% hold in the Old Line State in 2024 and moved beyond $100 million in year-to-date winnings with August's numbers.
BetMGM grabbed the final podium spot for revenue with $3.3 million on the strength of a 10.2% win rate against $32.2 million in accepted wagers. It moved beyond $25 million in gross winnings for 2024 while also exceeding $700 million in all-time handle.
Fanatics Sportsbook pipped Caesars for the No. 4 revenue spot despite lagging more than $3.1 million behind in handle. Fanatics crafted an 8.1% hold from $16 million handle to reap $1.3 million in winnings, while Caesars edged into seven figures as it posted a 5.3% win rate after accepting $19.2 million worth of wagers. ESPN BET lagged behind both, totaling $898,000 in winnings with a 7.5% hold from $11.9 million in handle.
Bally Bet had a solid full first month of action in Maryland, fashioning a 10.6% hold from $1.6 million handle after a July 29 launch. Approximately 8.2% of those wagers — $131,800 — were promotional bonuses and credits as Bally Bet reported $35,100 in taxable winnings compared to $171,000 in gross revenue.
Parlays Continue To Be Top Revenue Source
Maryland sportsbooks saw most of their August revenue originate from parlays as they collected $22.1 million in winnings. While the house had a healthy 17.6% hold from $125.7 million handle, it was still 6.2 percentage points lower than the 23.8% attained in July.
Baseball provided the largest sport-specific chunk of revenue at $5.5 million as operators finished with a 6.2% win rate against $88.4 million handle. That was up 175.8% from the previous August when the public limited sportsbooks to a 2.7% hold and less than $2 million in winnings.
The catch-all "other" category, which in Maryland includes table tennis among other events, provided $3.5 million in operator revenue. Winnings from tennis declined slightly year-over-year to $2.7 million, but revenue from pro football slid $590,700 to $1.7 million despite a 68.8% bump in handle to $15.2 million.
The betting public also looked to have a solid Week 0 effort for college football wagering as the $820,200 in operator revenue for August was down 44.2% from last year while handle rose 80.7% to $9.4 million.
