It was a busy month for Maryland sports betting, with online sportsbooks setting a record handle of $442.5 million for this year. It was second only to last December when promos and signup bonuses flooded the market leading to a whopping $497 million in accepted sports bets.
Maryland Loves Football
Nothing triggers a flurry of sports betting like the arrival of the NFL and college football. In Maryland, that was particularly true as over $442 million in wagers were accepted by the state’s online and retail sportsbooks in September.
It towered above August’s handle by 68.2% and $45.6 million in gross operator revenue for the first month of football was reported by Maryland Lottery and Gaming. However, the promos and signup bonuses used to entice customers were plentiful and accounted for nearly $24 million by the 12 online sportsbooks.
It was the biggest promo giveaway since December 2022, the second month of Maryland’s online sports betting industry, when a staggering $71 million in incentives produced a record $497 million handle.
DraftKings led the way with $8 million of the combined $24 million in promos while FanDuel, BetMGM, and Fanatics accounted for all but the $1.4 million remaining which was split amongst the eight smaller books.
Because of the deluge of bonuses, the $45.6 million in gross operator revenue was significantly reduced to a taxable amount of $21.5 million which swelled the state’s tax coffers by $3.2 million. The state has now profited over $30 million this season due to sports betting taxes.
Combing the Data
As we have seen time and time again, online sports betting is far more popular than retail wagering as people don’t have to leave the comfort of their own homes to place a bet. That proved true again as the brick-and-mortar sportsbooks handled just $21.5 million of the $442 million in wagers or just 5% of the state’s accepted bets in September.
If you ever wanted to know why online sportsbooks are so eager to promote parlays then look no further than the meager 4.8% hold on single-event wagers versus the nearly 21%-win rate on parlay bets. The overall hold was 10.3% which marked the 19th time in 22 months of wagering that the win rate reached double digits. Since the inception of mobile sports betting in Maryland, the hold has reached double digits in 10 of the 11 months since its debut in November 2022.
Below are Maryland’s sports betting metrics for September 2023:
Handle (Amount players wagered, including free promotional wagers):
- Mobile: $420,957,789 (including $23,953,299 in free promotional wagers)
- Retail: $21,492,877 (including $29,190 in free promotional wagers)
- Combined: $442,450,666
Prizes (Winnings paid to players):
- Mobile: $337,945,774
- Retail: $18,928,968
- Combined: $396,874,742
Hold (Handle minus prizes paid):
- Mobile: $43,012,015 (10.2%)
- Retail: $2,563,908 (11.9%)
- Combined: $45,575,923 (10.3%)
Taxable Win (Amount remaining after deducting prizes, promotional wagers, and other amounts):
- Mobile: $19,257,119
- Retail: $2,285,730
- Combined: $21,542,849
Sports Wagering Tax (15% of the Taxable Win):
- Mobile: $2,888,568
- Retail: $342,859
- Combined: $3,231,427
Whether the sportsbooks continue to lavish customers with generous bonuses, now that the NFL and college football seasons are well underway, is not yet known. However, we will likely see more impressive numbers emanating from the Old Line State as the season progresses.
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