Maryland’s First Sports Betting Handle Report

Maryland sports betting handle solely comes from retail sports wagering as it has yet to establish mobile sports betting in the state. Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency launched its sports betting operation on December 9th.

What Were the Numbers For Maryland’s First Sports Betting Handle 

The MGM National Harbor was the casino that took the state’s first-ever sports wager. Bettors across the state placed a total of $16.5 million in bets. These are the casinos and their breakdown of how much was wagered, and there will be more sportsbooks that will join the Maryland sports betting market. 

Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland led with $7.1 million in the sports betting handle. The ones that followed were the MGM National Harbor ($6 million), Horseshoe Casino Baltimore ($2.6 million), Ocean Downs ($554,218), and Hollywood Casino Perryville ($319,001). Rocky Gap is the sixth casino in the state but does not offer sports betting to its customers.

Maryland’s mobile sports betting operation will most likely not begin until late 2022. Sportsbook operators had a good hold in their first month of operation in the state. The online providers cleared $3.2 million in the state which was good for 19.2 percent.

The state collected $469,297 in taxes as the state has a tax rate of 15 percent. The money went to the e Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund which funds the state’s public education programs. Louisiana is another state that allows permits for retail sports betting.

Maryland’s population is approximately 1.5 million people larger when compared to Louisiana’s population. However, Louisiana’s first month of launch in November had a larger handle of about 60 percent as it surpassed $27.6 million. The numbers favor Louisiana because the state has more gaming facilities and venues compared to Maryland.

Which Sportsbooks Had the Most Success in the First-Month of Operation 

FanDuel Sportsbook had the most success in the state as it brought in a handle of $7.1 million that was good for 43 percent of the market share. It also had revenue of $1.4 million and slated itself as the only sportsbook in the state that hit $1 million or more in revenue.

BetMGM represented second place with a handle that was just under $6 million and has a market share of 36.2 percent with revenue under $1 million. Caesars came in third with $2.6 million in the handle which was good for a 15.6 percent market share.

TwinSpires had the highest overall win rate out of all the sportsbooks that operate in the state. The win rate was at 30.6 percent but the operator only had a handle of $555,000 with revenue only reaching $170,000. 

Maryland Sports Wagering Application Review Commission is working through the rules and regulations to get the approvals for mobile sports betting. If it does get approved at some point in 2022, Maryland will be able to have up to at least 30 retail and 60 mobile licenses.