All About Maryland Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

By Jim Tomlin

@jdtomlin68

February 10, 2026 11:00am

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. As of June 2025, each mobile sportsbook contributes 20% of its taxable win to the state, with the retail tax rate remaining at 15%.

Maryland Sports Betting, January vs. December

Maryland sportsbooks had a slight dip in month-to-moth handle for January compared to December, starting 2026 off on an interesting note.

The January sports betting handle was $615,845,563, down 3.2% from December ($636,272,774), according to data that Maryland Lottery and Gaming released at its website on Feb. 10. Statewide mobile sportsbooks accepted $604,711,664 in wagers, a 3.4% decrease from $626,063,021 in December.

It was also a rare instance of handle declining in a year-over-year comparison; in January 2025, Maryland sports betting handle was $618.8 million, about half a percentage point higher than last month.

The sports betting revenue, or taxable win, was $54,862,717 at Maryland sportsbook in January, a 30.6% drop from December ($78,996,191). The mobile sportsbooks reported $53,982,642 in revenue, down 30.6% from $77,749,205 in the previous month.

Taxes fell at the same rate, with $10,928,540 for the state’s coffers in January. Of that, $10,796,528 came from mobile operators.

The top mobile operators for the first month of 2026, by handle were Live! Casino (FanDuel) at $245,611,686, DraftKings with $189,282,833, BetMGM at $45,886,200, Maryland Stadium Sub (Fanatics) with $40,715,760 and Riverboat on the Potomac (bet365) at $32,104,463.

The top five 5 sports by handle: Pro basketball $124,897,989, pro football $74,184,375, college basketball $36,886,332, tennis $36,436,600 and soccer $21,177,172. Parlay handle was $233,143,958 and “other” sports (anything outside of football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, tennis, soccer and motorsports) attracted $61,972,618 in wagers.

Maryland Mobile Sports Betting History