All About Maryland Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

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, October vs. September

Maryland Sports Betting Handle and Revenue: October 2024

Maryland sports betting handle records fell by the wayside across the board in October.

Operators in the Old-Line State reported new highs for total sports betting wagers ($593,101,471) and mobile sports betting handle ($576,429,289) during the 10th month of the year.

In total, Maryland’s wagering handle during October was up 11.3% month-over-month from September’s sum of $532,866,676, while the state’s mobile wagering handle jumped 11.1% from September’s total of $518,910,635.

For the former, the new high knocked off December of 2023’s previous high for total handle of $559,865,463. The mobile handle for October unseated December 2023’s record of $541,650,934, illustrating how successful of a month it was for operators in the state.

That success didn’t parlay its way to sports betting revenue and tax dollars generated, however. Maryland sports betting operators reported $46,998,314 in sports betting revenue (down 24.8% from September) and $7,049,747 in sports betting taxes (down 24.8% from September) last month.

Those totals represented slips from the month prior, when Maryland sports betting operators set state records by taking in $62,530,643 in revenue and $9,379,598 in tax dollars.

As far as market share was concerned, FanDuel Sportsbook was top dog in Maryland in October, with a total handle of $269,270,893 to knock off DraftKings Sportsbook, which recorded a handle of $180,426,385. BetMGM ($47,948,296), Fanatics ($28,491,098) and Caesars Sportsbook ($25,390,296) were next in line among Maryland mobile sports betting operators, according to a Maryland Lottery and Gaming report filed on Nov. 12.

Among the state’s retail operators, MGM National Harbor was the top dog in terms of total handle, at $5,772,838, followed by Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover ($4,013,817), Hollywood Casino Perryville ($1,191,910), Ocean Downs Casino ($1,169,201) and Horseshoe Casino Baltimore ($1,084,426).

Maryland Mobile Sports Betting History