Maryland second state with lower February sports betting handle
Handle was up 30.4% from $339.4m in February 2023. However, it was 18.8% behind the $545.0m bet in Maryland during January this year.
The drop in handle follows the same trend as New York, with the Empire State announcing a reduction in February handle despite the Super Bowl. However, this could also be attributed to the shorter month of February and the NBA All-Star break that ran between 16-21 February.
Of the total in Maryland, $428.4m was wagered online, including $13.4m in free bets, and $14.1m at retail sportsbooks.
Taxable win – the amount remaining after deducting prizes, promotional wagers and other amounts – reached $28.1m. This was 51.2% ahead of $18.6m last year but 48.9% short of January’s $55.0m.
Mobile taxable win amounted to $27.1m, while retail wagering generated $942,233.
Total contribution to Maryland State in February reached $4.2m, up 50.5% from last year.
Live! Casino and FanDuel continue to lead in Maryland
Live! Casino Hotel and FanDuel remain the market leaders in online sports betting. For February, handle stood at $191.3m and taxable win $16.6m.
Placing second was DraftKings with a $137.0m handle and $8.0m taxable win. BetMGM rounded off the top three, taking $37.3m in bets and posting $1.4m in taxable win.
As for retail, Oceans Down took the most bets ($2.9m) generating $442,849 in taxable win. Narrowly behind was Live! Casino with $2.7m in wagers and $202,491 total taxable win.
Year-on-year casino growth
Turning to the casino market in Maryland, revenue for February amounted to $159.2m. This was 1.4% ahead of last year and 3.9% higher than $153.2m in January.
Video lottery terminals generated $109.2m of revenue in February. Table games accounted for the remaining $50.0m.
BetMGM National Harbor led the way with $66.8m in total revenue. Live! Casino was second with $59.3m, then Horseshoe Casino on $16.0m for the month.
Fiscal year growth for Maryland
Looking at the fiscal year to date, beginning with sports betting, handle for the eight months to February hit $3.53bn. This is 120.6% higher than at the same point in the previous year.
Taxable win from sports betting rocketed 331.1% to $247.0m, with state contributions also 330.9% higher at $37.1m.
As for the casino sector, revenue was 6.5% lower at $1.29bn for the same period.