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Massachusetts operators hold 10.3% as Bally Bet makes debut

| By Jill R. Dorson
Massachusetts sportsbook operators were the winners in July, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission revenue report released on Thursday (15 August).
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The state’s seven mobile operators and three retail operators combined for a 10.3% hold and handle was up significantly over July 2024.

Bally Bet, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel took a combined $405.3m (£315.3/€369.3m) in wagers compared to $294.9m in July 2023. Massachusetts’ handle was down against June’s $509.3m. Four digital operators recorded hold of over 10%.

Massachusetts operators paid more than $8m to the state in taxes.

Boston-based DraftKings retained its spot as the market-share leader, taking $202m in wagers, holding 10.3% and recording adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of $20.9m. FanDuel was second with $119.9m in handle and a hold of 10.97%.

Bally Bet had lowest hold of all operators

Massachusetts was back up to seven operators for July, after Bally Bet launched on 2 July. The state started the year with eight operators, but Betr and WynnBet have since exited the state. Bally Bet took $2.4m in wagers but hold of 5% meant the company kept $121,299.

Of that, according to the report, $115,250 was taxable. Massachusetts does not allow operators to deduct promotional play from its gross revenue and the MGC does not break out promotional spent, making it unclear how much Bally Bet spent in its debut month.

Bally Bet’s hold was the lowest of any digital operator.

Of the remaining four Massachusetts operators, BetMGM and Fanatics also had hold of more than 10%. BetMGM took $27.5m in bets and had AGR of $2.8m. Fanatics took $21m in bets and had AGR of $2.2m. Caesars Sportsbook (7.29% hold) and ESPN Bet (8.05% hold) both took less than $20m in wagers and had AGR of $1.5m or less.

On the retail side, Plainridge Park had a 15.53% hold, which allowed it to keep $362,106 in AGR on $2.4m in handle. Encore Boston Harbor had the highest handle of the three brick-and-mortar sportsbooks at $3.5m, but its 3.6% hold was the lowest of any sportsbook, digital or retail, for the month.

MGC alters bet menu

In a commission meeting on Thursday, the MGC voted to remove International Boxing Association events from its bet menu, citing an International Olympic Committee investigation into the group. The MGC added several new football and basketball bets, as well.

Commissioners also agreed to set a second meeting to discuss bet limits by early October. The MGC earlier this year invited Massachusetts operators to a roundtable about betting limits in May, but every live operator declined to participate, saying proprietary information could not be divulged. Since then, the commission has had additional conversations with operators and it appears they now believe the subject can be discussed in a public meeting.