The months with warmer temperatures and a colder sports calendar are officially in the books for 2024. August brought a mixed bag of results to close that window for Massachusetts sports betting, as handle increased, but revenue fell from July.
Massachusetts sportsbooks reported $447.3 million in monthly wagers, an 8.6% increase from July’s $411.8 million.
However, they had a paltry 7.4% hold, which amounted to $33.3 million in monthly revenue. This was a 19.1% drop from July’s $41.2 million, a 10% monthly hold.
The decline in revenue also resulted in a lower tax bill. Massachusetts sportsbooks paid the state $6.6 million, 18.8% less than their $8.2 million in July.
Massachusetts sports betting revenue grows 46.1% YoY in August
The Bay State is well into its second year with legal sports betting, and its sportsbooks continue to show undeniable growth as the market matures. In August, Massachusetts sports betting handle, revenue, and taxes grew by more than 40% yearly.
- Handle: +43.1% (from $307.2 million)
- Revenue: +46.1% (from $22.6 million)
- Taxes paid: +46.1% (from $4.5 million)
However, that growth has come entirely from online wagers. The state’s three retail sportsbooks posted yearly gains in revenue and taxes paid but had an annual decline in betting volume.
August’s retail sports betting volume totaled $7,627,864, roughly $50K (-0.6%) lower than a year ago. Luckily, their $381K in taxable revenue was more than double (+138.1%) August 2023’s $160K. As a result, they paid $57K in taxes, compared to $32K a year ago.
Retail betting showed slower monthly growth than sports betting apps, too. August’s retail handle was 16% better than the $6.6 million July sports betting report, but its revenue was 27% lower than the $522K reported last month.
FanDuel & DraftKings dominate Massachusetts; other sportsbooks remain competitive
In addition to its three retail sportsbooks, the Commonwealth offers seven online sports betting operators. Six of those seven operators had eight-figure betting totals in August, and two added a ninth.
DraftKings had a $229.4 million handle, amassing an astounding 52.2% market share. This was up 13.5% monthly from July’s $202.1 million, which earned it a 49.9% market share.
DraftKings nearly doubled FanDuel’s $118.2 million handle. FanDuel had a 1.4% drop in betting volume from July ($119.9 million).
Furthermore, both operators showed monthly revenue declines. DraftKings had $16.2 million in monthly revenue (-20.1% from $20.3 million), and FanDuel had $10.7 million (-17.1% from $12.8 million).
The five remaining sportsbooks reported the final $92.1 million in August handle. Bally Bet had the lowest handle but was the only operator to report a monthly revenue increase.
- BetMGM: $31.1 million handle (+13% from $21.2 million); $2.3 million revenue (-17.6% from $2.8 million)
- Fanatics: $25.9 million handle (+23.4% from $21 million); $1.6 million revenue (-30.5% from $2.2 million)
- ESPN Bet: $16.7 million handle (-12.5% from $19.1 million); $1.3 million revenue (-11% from $1.5 million)
- Caesars: $16 million handle (+20.9% from 13.2 million); $674K revenue (-26.3% from $915K)
- Bally Bet: $2.4 million handle (+0.7% from $2.4 million); $222K revenue (+99.2% from $112K)
Excluding Bally Bet, which did not operate in Massachusetts a year ago, every sportsbook showed yearly growth in betting volume. Only Caesars and ESPN Bet failed to report double-digit growth.
- Fanatics: +487.6% (from $4.4 million)
- FanDuel: +48.9% (from $79.4 million)
- BetMGM: +46.5% (from $21.2 million)
- DraftKings: +41.7% (from $161.9 million)
- Caesars: +9.4% (from $14.6 million)
- ESPN Bet: +1.3% (from $16.5 million as Barstool Sportsbook)
Are new Massachusetts sportsbook records on the horizon?
Massachusetts has recorded more than $4.4 billion in wagers through the first eight months of 2024, thanks to August revenue. Now, it sets its sights on a football season that should bring record highs for handle, revenue and taxes.
The state’s sportsbooks will exceed $5 billion in September if they post at least a $591.9 million handle. They have broken $600 million five times:
- December 2023: $658.7 million
- March 2024: $654.9 million
- November 2023: $654.4 million
- January 2024: $651.7 million
- April 2024: $603.3 million
Whether or not they pass $5 billion in September, four months of football wagering will bring the state’s annual total well above $6.5 billion. If sportsbooks set multiple new records, that number could reach as high as $7 billion.
