All About Maryland Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

By Editorial Staff

@BetMDdotcom

April 10, 2025 02:50pm

The experts at BetMaryland.com have assembled this guide to explain what we mean when we talk about Maryland sports betting revenue, also known as hold, compared to the sports wagering handle that the state reports each month.

There is an evolving sports betting market in Maryland with many online/mobile operators as well as a number of retail sports wagering options at brick-and-mortar casinos. There is also in-person betting at smaller physical facilities around the state. The number of online sportsbook operators and retail sports wagering facilities is expected to increase in the near future.

The handle is simply the total dollars wagered on sports in the state each month. In Maryland, bettors wager hundreds of millions of dollars each month. After a sports betting law was passed by the state’s General Assembly in 2021, legal, regulated sports betting began initially at retail sportsbooks in five casinos in December 2021. Online sports betting launched with seven operators in November 2022.

The revenue derived from online Maryland sportsbook apps is called hold – that refers to the amount that operators have left after they pay out winning bets. Taxable win is the hold minus promotional wagers and other specified deductions. Each sportsbook contributes 15% of its taxable win to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, which supports public education programs.

Maryland Sports Betting, March vs. February

March Madness was evident in Maryland as bettors in the Old Line State wagered $588,500,308 during the month according to figures from Maryland Lottery and Gaming. That handle total was 23.7% higher than the $475,708,504 bet during February and represented a 9.7% increase from March 2024’s $536,730,427. 

Online wagering accounted for 97.4% of the wagering as bettors placed $573,354,414 of their action through Maryland-licensed mobile apps. That’s up 23.8% from February’s $463,172,911 and 9.8% from the $522,107,503 wagered online during March 2024.

Although sportsbooks took more wagers, they saw a drop in revenue. The $29,462,687 they reported earning in March was a 30.4% decline from the $42,334,492 they received in February and 9% lower than the $32,359,903 they won in March a year ago. Mobile operators accounted for $28,919,653 of the revenue, which was off by 30.9% from the $41,848,340 earned in February and 8.7% from the $31,671,163.

Tax revenue also fell 30.4% from February as the state received $4,419,403 in March, compared to $6,350,174 from the previous month. It was also down 9% from the $4,853,985 levied during the previous year. 

Maryland’s online apps accounted for $4,337,948 of those tax dollars, compared to $6,277,251 from February and $4,750,675 from March 2024.

FanDuel, which partners with Live Casino & Hotel in Maryland, was Maryland’s top online sports betting operator with a handle of $249,762,481 in March, followed by DraftKings with $177,922,378, BetMGM with $49,126,720, Fanatics with $38,384,234, and Caesars with $27,261,735.

MGM National Harbor was the top brick-and-mortar sportsbook for the month, with it reporting a handle of $4,537,577. Live! Casino & Hotel followed, taking $4,524,597 in bets. Behind them were Ocean Downs with $1,132,119, Hollywood Casino with $1,028,216, and Horseshow Casino with $701,201.

The top retail sportsbooks not in casinos were Maryland Stadium Authority with $771,981, Bingo World with $671,497, Whitman Gaming with $503,953, Long Shot’s with $255,785 and Canton Gaming with $388,255. 

Maryland Mobile Sports Betting History