Massachusetts sportsbooks reported $637.9 million total handle in January, marking the third straight month bettors have wagered more than $600 million in the commonwealth.
According to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s monthly report, sports betting operators had taxable gaming revenue of $71.1 million in January.
Around $14.1 million was paid in taxes for the month. That pushes the total tax collection from sports betting to $108.04 million since Massachusetts sports betting launched in early 2023.
FanDuel enjoys highest hold percentage in January
Taxes collected from sports betting are used to fund state education programs, responsible gaming efforts and general funding for the state. Massachusetts taxes sports betting operators at 20% of adjusted gaming revenue.
The total handle in December was $643.1 million, or about $5 million more than in January. However, operators generated more taxable revenue in January: $71.1 million compared to $59.2 million.
That’s because hold percentage was higher in January, led by FanDuel MA at 13.19%, DraftKings at 11.86% and BetMGM MA at 10.77%. Hold percentage is the rate at which a sportsbook wins on placed wagers.
Here’s the complete online sportsbook breakdown:
| Online Sportsbook | Handle | Taxable Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| BetMGM | $36,808,219 | $3,872,802 |
| Betr | $418,557 | $34,871 |
| Caesars Sportsbook | $22,534,766 | $1,032,845 |
| DraftKings | $311,414,401 | $36,162,925 |
| ESPN Bet | $45,405,487 | $1,936,076 |
| Fanatics | $15,516,227 | $1,060,216 |
| FanDuel | $194,031,542 | $25,122,261 |
| Totals | $637,984,749 | $69.923,081 |
DraftKings, FanDuel account for nearly 80% of Mass sports betting
In January, the industry leaders continued dominating the commonwealth sports betting market. DraftKings MA reported $311.4 million in total handle, while FanDuel MA had $194 million. Combined, the two sportsbooks accounted for 79.2% of total wagers accepted last month.
ESPN Bet had a solid showing in the No. 3 position with $45.4 million. The sportsbook owned by Penn Entertainment and branded for the popular sports programming network has moved ahead of rivals BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook MA, which ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. However, ESPN Bet’s market share in Massachusetts fell from 7.7% in December to 7.1% in January.
Fanatics was one of only two operators to increase market share in January. It rose from 2.1% in December to 2.5% in January. The other sportsbook to increase its market share in January was FanDuel.
