- Maryland’s 16 total sportsbooks combined for a total betting handle of $497 million in December 2022.
- Total promotional bets for December amounted to $70.9 million, bringing the total to $134 million since online sports betting launched last November 23, 2022.
- Maryland’s retail sportsbooks posted a robust 15.2% in December 2022 win rate.
Maryland’s 9 retail and 7 mobile sportsbooks barely missed the $500 million mark in betting handle during December 2022.
According to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming, the 16 total operators wrote a total of $497 million in sports bets last month, the first full month where Maryland bettors could place sports bets using their mobile devices.
Maryland posts $497M sports betting handle in first full month of legal mobile wagering https://t.co/Jka0QQF0qC
— Yogonet Gaming News (@YogonetNews) January 11, 2023
Mobile sports betting launched only last November 23 in the state and that month, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported a total sports betting handle of $219 million. That number more than doubled in December with mobile sports betting accounting for the bulk of the total.
Aggressive Promotions by Online Sports Betting Companies
Online sportsbook operators continued their aggressive promotional play and bonuses in December with a total of $70.9 million. Although that amount isn’t as high as the $60.8 million worth of promotional free bets they gave during their first 8 days of operation in November, the total for both months has reached a staggering $134 million.
Heavy amounts of promotional bets continued to cut into the tax revenue that the state receives from operators since these are deducted from their taxable win. For December, online sports betting generated a tax of just $44,791 which was barely 10% of the total December 2022 sports betting tax revenues, including retail.
As far as sportsbook gross revenues are concerned, mobile and retail sportsbooks combined to make $85.2 million or a 17.1% hold, with the seven online operators accounting for $82.3 million of the total. That figure enabled Maryland to become one of only five U.S. states in the post-PASPA era to post at least $80 million in gross monthly revenue from sports betting.
FanDuel and DraftKings Top Online Sportsbook
Not surprisingly, sports betting giants FanDuel and DraftKings led the state’s seven online sportsbook operators in both betting handle and gross revenue. FanDuel was king as it accounted for nearly half of the state’s total online handle in December with $236.2 million. It put up a win rate of 19.1% and a $45.2 million gross revenue to overtake its promotional spending of $39.6 million during the month and post $5.1 million in adjusted revenue.
Meanwhile, DraftKings kept $26.3 million of the total $157.8 million in sports bets written during December, or a 16.6% win rate. The Boston-based sports betting company also figured heavily in promotional bets with a total of $22.5 million, giving it a December AGR of $3.4 million.
BetMGM came in third with $42.3 million in handle and $6 million in gross revenue or a hold of 14.2% while reporting just shy of $5 million in free bets and bonuses. Barstool Sportsbook was 4th with $16.4 million in bets and $1.9 million in gross revenue while Caesars completed the Top 5 with $15.6 million in handle and $1.9 million in gross revenue.
Retail Sportsbooks Posted Robust Win Rates in December
The state’s retail sportsbooks posted a win rate of 15.2% on $18.9 million worth of betting tickets issued, claiming $2.9 million in gross revenues for December 2022. That marked the 11th time in 13 months that brick-and-mortar sports betting hit the double-digit mark in win rate. The high win rate has enabled the state’s retail sportsbooks to contribute $1.1 million in tax revenues since mobile sports betting launched.
MGM National Harbor and Live! Casino produced the bulk of the betting handle with a combined $12.7 million worth of sports bets written at both venues. MGM National Harbor beat its bettors with a staggering 19.6% in hold. It has posted a double-digit win rate in six consecutive months while also hitting the $1 million mark in revenue in five straight months.
Live!Casino saw its win rate drop from 19.1% in November to just 9% in December but it finished the year with the highest YTD handle and revenue with $131.4 million and $17.7 million, respectively. On the other hand, Riverboat on the Potomac’s PointsBet Sportsbook became the first operator in the state to suffer a monthly loss with bettors emerging $6,252 ahead of its total $85,000 worth of bets.
