Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported monthly and year-over-year growth in sports wagering amid a record month for FanDuel.
The Old Line State posted a total sports betting handle of $536.7 million, a 21.3% increase on the $442.5 million wagered in February and up 39.1% from the $386 million handle posted in March 2023.
This figure represents the fourth-highest handle since the launch of sports betting in the state and sports betting handle for the 2024 fiscal year has doubled year-over-year, surpassing $4 billion.
Despite strong wagering figures, gross revenue for operators was down 5.1% year-over-year to $45.1 million off the back of an 8.4% hold, down from 12.4% in March 2023. The majority of revenue, $44 million, was generated through online sports betting with retail contributing $1.1 million.
Maryland levies a 15% tax on adjusted gross revenue which is allocated in support of public education via the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund. In March operators paid out $4.9 million on $32.4 million of AGR which was down 8.6% year-over-year due to the reduced hold.
FanDuel posts record month
FanDuel reported a record handle in March as bettors in the state wagered $247.8 million with the operator, from which it generated revenue of $26.5 million.
FanDuel was also responsible for over half of the $10.8 million of promotional spend by operators in the states as it had a promotional outlay of $6.3 million.
DraftKings placed second in the state, collecting $11.5 million in gross revenue from a handle of $155.1 million which represents a hold of 7.4%. This is the seventh month running that DraftKings has generated $10 million or more in gross revenue in the state.
BetMGM grabbed the final podium spot for revenue and handle with $2.9 million and $42.8 million respectively. March also represented the first month that BetMGM failed to report any promotional spend since launching in Maryland.
Parlays generate the bulk of revenue
Maryland Lottery breakdown betting figures by sports and its figures for March showed that over two-thirds of gross revenue, $30.5 million, came from parlays. Operators had a 16.9% hold on $181.1 million of parlay bets.
Professional and college basketball wagering ranked first and second respectively for gross revenue in the state. Pro basketball generated $5.6 million for operators from a $160 million handle, while college basketball earned operators $2.7 million from an $83.7 million handle.
Operators lost money on golf in March as they paid out $98,300 more than the $4.2 million of golf wagers that were placed.
No Maryland online casino in 2024
While sports betting in the state continues to grow, the prospect of online casino joining the party was quashed in the Senate this week.
House Bill 1319 had met opposition throughout its journey including concerns from hospitality workers and trade unions over the cannibalization of brick and mortar operations.
Despite making it out of the House there was little appetite for the legislation in the Senate and it died in the Budget and Taxation Committee, which met multiple times on Monday but did not include HB 1339 on the agenda.
