In April, Maryland sports betting experienced substantial decreases in handle and taxable win compared to March. That is likely to be a trend across the country as wagering on sports cools following the end of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Sports betting typically hits a trough through late spring and summer and picks up again in September with the NFL and college football.
Still, April was also the second-best month ever in the state for tax contributions from wagers on events, especially coming from the Maryland sports betting app options.
Maryland Sports Betting, April vs. March
Where Maryland Handle, Revenue Landed
In April total sports betting handle, both mobile and retail, was about $328.45 million, down 14.9% from March (almost $385.97 million).
The April sports betting revenue (taxable win) was about $25.76 million. That was a decrease of 27.2% from $35.4 million in the March Maryland betting revenue report.
Gambling on sports in Maryland started with five retail sportsbooks in December 2021. Now there are 10 retail operations and nine online sportsbooks. The April tax from sports betting was $3.86 million, down 27.2% from March ($5.31 million, a state record). Sportsbooks are taxed at 15% of the taxable win with the money going toward education.
As is the case in many jurisdictions, the wagering action in the Old Line State was dominated by online play from sportsbooks that offer Maryland sports betting promos.
For April, about $313.47 million of the handle, or about 95%, came from mobile wagering. The mobile handle included more than $9 million in promotion play.
FanDuel, DraftKings Lead; SuperBook Enters Fray
So far among online operators, handle is being dominated by two operators, Live! Casino Mobile (in partnership with FanDuel Maryland) and DraftKings.
The combined handle for those two accounted for more than 80% of the mobile market in the state. FanDuel and DraftKings are the two biggest players in most states where both companies operate.
The market got a new entry in April, SuperBook Maryland, raising the total of mobile operators to nine.
The mobile sportsbooks by handle were: Live! Casino Mobile, $150.8 million; DraftKings/Crown MD $101.37 million; BetMGM, $28.4 million; Caesars, $15.9 million; Hollywood Casino Mobile, $8.6 million; BingoWorld/Arundel Amusements, $3.36 million; Riverboat on the Potomac Mobile, $3.26 million; Long Shot’s, $1.26 million, and SuperBook $530,379, according to figures from Maryland Lottery and Gaming.
Maryland Retail Sportsbook Breakdown
April retail sports betting handle was $14.98 million for the month, down 4.4% from March (about $15.68 million). There were 10 retail books including five in casinos. The sportsbooks at the MGM National Harbor casino – run by the company that offers the BetMGM Maryland bonus code – and the Live! Casino & Hotel were the two dominant players.
The April Maryland retail sports betting handle by casino: MGM National Harbor, $5.59 million; Live! Casino (Hanover), $4.22 million; Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, $1.47; Ocean Downs Casino (Berlin), $1.28 million, and Hollywood Casino Perryville $741,656.
April retail handle at other facilities: BingoWorld $715,637; Maryland Stadium Sub, $377,124; Riverboat on the Potomac, $262,695; Long Shot’s $244,586, and Greenmount OTB $92,078.
The hold on handle was far higher for mobile betting. The hold for online wagering was 11.1% while the hold for retail betting was 5.9%.
As far as promotion play among mobile operators, the largest amounts were Live! (about $4.37 million), DraftKings (about $1.92 million) and BetMGM (about $1.75 million). The total promotion play for all operators was about $9 million.
