Numbers from Maryland sports betting in May tracked to similar to many other jurisdictions with legal sports betting as the sports calendar moves through the spring and summer.
Handle in May at the state’s five retail sportsbooks was down by a double-digit percentage from the previous month. The trend of decreasing sports betting activity in spring and summer has shown to be typical throughout the legalized sports gaming industry. Wagering action is far more vigorous during the NFL and college football seasons.
For Maryland in May, handle was a little more than $23 million at the five sportsbooks combined. That was down 14.2% from April (almost $27 million).
However, the May sports betting revenue (taxable win) was a little more than $3 million, and that was an increase of 8.9% from April (more about $2.77 million). The hold in May averaged about 13%.
The state saw a contribution of $452,897 in May from sports betting and that also was up 8.9% from April ($415,801).
Maryland Sports Betting, May vs. April
Live! Leads The Way
The May Maryland retail sports betting handle by casino was: Live! Casino (Hanover), nearly $11 million; MGM National Harbor, almost $6.3 million; Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, a little over $3.6 million; Hollywood Casino Perryville about $1.23 million, and Ocean Downs Casino (Berlin) just over $1 million.
Four small businesses, three OTBs and a bingo facility have been awarded retail sportsbook licenses but have not yet begun taking wagers.
Maryland retail sports betting launched on Dec. 9, 2021.
When Will Mobile Launch?
Mobile sports betting has not yet launched in Maryland and given the pace of the application development process for what are known as competitive Class B retail licenses and for online licenses, informed observers believe mobile sports wagering will not occur until sometime in 2023.
While Live! has led the way in retail sports betting, its online sports betting and its partnership with FanDuel Sportsbook are where its numbers will dramatically increase.
“We’re ready for online to come. We’re going to have the odds and the games and the choices and the parlays that make us distinctive and different. And we look forward to that,” Rob Norton, president of Cordish Global Gaming and Live! Casino, told BetMaryland.com during an interview about the casino’s 10-year anniversary in Maryland.
Norton, along with other operators, said it will be tough for the state to go live with its online market this year. “I can’t see how we get it done this year based upon where we are right now,” he conceded.
