After an uncharacteristic bump in wagers in July, Maine's sports betting figures came back down to earth in August. But with the Olympic games and NFL preseason in heavy rotation, it's remarkable how much action fell.
The Maine Gambling Control Unit (MGCU) reported that the Pine Tree State's two legal sports betting operators saw $35.6 million in wagers, down nearly 17% month-over-month. Revenue also plummeted. After seeing $6 million in gross revenue in July, operators announced just $3.5 million in August.
After paying out $31.6 million back to bettors, DraftKings and Caesars held 9.8% of the action. To be fair, July’s revenue numbers were good for the books thanks to an abnormally high hold rate (15%), so the dropoff wasn't unexpected.
DraftKings enjoys the vast majority of the handle in Maine, and in August it controlled 84% of the market share. Caesars also saw its action drop but its $5.5 million handle was just 6.7% lower than July.
When the operators do poorly, so too does the state’s General Fund. After $600,000 in July, last month brought legislators a mere $355,000.
Football boost is imminent
The contraction from July brought operators to near lows in August. Both Caesars and DraftKings reported their second-worst handle, the lowest came in February when just one NFL game was played the entire month.
Although Maine doesn't have any NFL teams, sportsbooks generally see their biggest returns during football season, regardless of the state. With college football and the NFL back playing games in September, it should be enough to bring Pine Tree State bettors out of hibernation.
