The Old Line State showed tremendous year-over-year growth, with its handle spiking a whopping 43% from August 2023 and the state collecting over $5 million in taxes on top-rated sportsbooks’ August 2024 revenues.
Active August in Maryland
The data has been released for sports betting handles and revenues in the Old Line State, and the results are encouraging. Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported that, including free promotional wagers, $377.3 million was wagered through the state’s mobile and retail sports betting outlets, which was an increase of 43.1% from the $263.7 million wagered in August 2023.
Approximately 96% of the sports bets were wagered online, while the remaining 4% was bet at the state’s brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. The hold, or win rate, was a combined 10.4% in August, which netted $37,228,689 in adjusted gross revenue for the sportsbooks.
Maryland’s tax coffers swelled by $5.58 million with its 15% cut of sports betting revenues, and since the launch of the state’s first retail sportsbook in December 2021, Maryland residents have seen more than $103 million added to the state’s tax fund, of which $100,291,520 has been directed to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund while $3,377,724 has gone toward the state’s Problem Gambling Fund.
FanDuel Reigns Supreme
After August’s numbers were tallied, Maryland became the 14th state to eclipse the $100 million threshold for sports betting tax revenue. FanDuel was the market leader for the month, accepting approximately $160.7 million in online sports bets, or 44% of the market, while Boston-based DraftKings took the second spot with $119.3 million (32%) followed by BetMGM with $32.2 million in wagers.
Of Maryland’s 11 mobile sportsbooks, only three others saw a handle that exceeded eight figures, including Caesars ($19.2 million), Fanatics ($16 million), and ESPN BET ($11.9 million), which were the only other online operators to achieve an eight-figure handle.
Bally Bet Arrives in Maryland
Bally’s launched its Bally Bet in Maryland on July 29th, and its first full month saw the Providence, Rhode Island-based gaming company report only a $1.6 million handle in August, of which a mere $5,268 was collected by the state on its revenues.
Bally Bet, in conjunction with its minority partner, UJIMA, is enthused about the brand’s new market. “We are excited to launch the Bally Bet Sportsbook app in Maryland,” said Brett Calapp, Chief Operating Officer of Bally’s North America Interactive. “Our partnership with UJIMA underscores our commitment to reflecting Maryland’s dedication to diversity and inclusion.”
Bally Bet is now operating in nine states after its launch in Massachusetts earlier in July. It also operates in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New York, Ohio and Virginia.
Bally Bet was joined by another newcomer, LetsBetMD, which launched on July 1st through its partnership with the Veterans Services Corporation (VSC), and is focused on esports markets. Meanwhile, SuperBook and Betfred recently pulled out of the Maryland sports betting market.
