During March’s premier sporting event, Massachusetts bettors placed the third-highest monthly amount wagered since online sportsbooks went live two years ago.
Key takeaways
- Bay State sports betting operators saw an 18% year-over-year increase in action during March Madness.
- Customer-friendly results led to the second-lowest win rate Massachusetts sportsbooks endured.
- Sports betting continued to grow since March 2023's online wagering launch.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported Tuesday that online and retail operators generated a $772.4 million March handle, third best all-time. Betting action during college basketball’s conference and NCAA tournaments increased 18% year-over-year.
Operators hauled in $54.2 million in gross revenue, a 13.4% year-over-year increase, despite the second-lowest win rate on record in Massachusetts’ mobile betting era. The 7% hold was only behind Oct. 2024’s 6.7% win rate.
Higher seeds rolling through both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments stymied sportsbook profits, and moneyline parlays filled with favorites led to customer-friendly outcomes.
Compared to February and the Super Bowl, another massive betting event, March's handle was up 22.9%, but month-over-month gross revenue dipped 19% from $67.1 million.
Massachusetts filled its coffers with $10.4 million from March’s $52.1 million adjusted revenue, bringing its year-to-date tax income total to $42.3 million.
Growth since launch
Massachusetts sports betting showed tremendous growth over the last two years. The latest monthly handle was up 36% from when online wagering launched in March 2023, which produced $568.1 million that first month. Despite a hold that was 1.5% lower two years ago, gross revenue rose 12.2% from the initial March haul of $48.3 million.
Over the last two years, Bay State sportsbooks generated over $14.5 billion in wagers and $1.3 billion in operator revenue.
DraftKings posts best hold
| Online Operator | March Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $375.1 million | $29.3 million |
| FanDuel | $208.4 million | $14.3 million |
| BetMGM | $72 million | $4.3 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $48.3 million | $2.2 million |
| ESPN BET | $26.5 million | $1.75 million |
| Caesars | $26.2 million | $1.76 million |
Massachusetts online sports betting accounted for $761.8 million of March’s total handle. DraftKings led all operators with over $375 million in wagers, up from February’s $317 million. Its $29.3 million in gross revenue was down from the previous month’s $36.8 million, but the 7.8% hold was highest among all online operators.
FanDuel took in $208.4 million in bets during March Madness and had $14.3 million in profit. The 6.9% hold was down significantly from February’s 11.7% win rate.
BetMGM saw a similar trend in March – more wagers, less month-over-month revenue – with a 5.9% hold on a $72 million handle. Fanatics Sportsbook finished fourth with a $48.3 million handle, but the operator produced a 4.7% hold, the second lowest behind Bally Bet’s 3.7%.
ESPN BET just edged Caesars with a $26.5 million handle, but Caesars made a tad more profit with a 6.7% hold.
Other Massachusetts gaming news
Bay State retail operators generated a $10.6 million handle but only won back 3.2% of brick-and-mortar wagers. Encore Boston Harbor led all in-person sportsbooks with a $5.6 million handle and a 4.7% hold, but MGM Springfield reported no taxable income from March betting.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is continuing its long-running inquiry into sportsbooks limiting customers' wagers by having a data analyst help regulators sort through operator figures and find information on the matter.
The Bay State gaming agency is also looking into prediction market platform Robinhood, which teamed up with Kalshi to offer sports-event outcome markets this year. Both came under fire for violating multiple states’ gambling laws.
