Maryland Lottery and Gaming has published its October sports betting figures, revealing a 22.8% year-on-year increase in handle to a record-breaking $593.1 million total.
Last October, bettors spent $483.1 million. Handle was also up 11.3% month-on-month, compared to the $532.9 million reported in September 2024. The previous record of $559.8 million was set in December 2023.
“October is a uniquely busy month on the sports calendar because all of the major pro leagues in the U.S. are in season, along with NCAA football,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming director John Martin. “The Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders have both looked like Super Bowl contenders, so there’s definitely been extra enthusiasm in the air. We can’t say exactly how much that translated into the strong handle we saw in October, but the success of the local teams captures everyone’s attention, so it was most likely a factor.”
While hold fell to 8.4%, the state’s sportsbooks still reported a 21.3% year-on-year revenue increase, at almost $47 million. This also meant a 21.3% rise in state contributions, up to more than $7 million, marking the third-best single-month total ever reported.
So far in the first four months of FY 2025, sports wagering has generated nearly $28.3 million for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, compared to $14.9 million in the same period last year. The fund supports public education programs in the state.
Since the inception of Maryland sports bettting in December 2021, operators have contributed more than $116.7 million to the fund and $3.5 million to the state’s Problem Gambling Fund.
Breaking down the data
The figures comprise wagering at the 12 retail locations and 11 mobile platforms in the Old Line State. In October, around $576.4 million was wagered online, while the remaining $16.7 million was spent in-person at retail books. Mobile operators also accounted for more than 99% of the revenue total, collecting $46.6 million, while retail operators reported a taxable win of $366,152.
In partnership with the Live! Casino Hotel, FanDuel Sportsbook led mobile operators with $269.3 million in wagers, making up around 46.7% of the October handle. DraftKings took second place, with a $180.4 million handle, followed by BetMGM Sportsbook, which collected $47.9 million in wagers.
In terms of revenue, the top three were the same, with FanDuel contributing $26.5 million, DraftKings collecting $13.2 million, and BetMGM in third with $2.9 million.
The BetMGM Sportsbook at MGM National Harbor led retail handle, with bettors wagering $5.8 million. Live! Casino Hotel’s FanDuel Sportsbook took second place, with a $4 million handle. In third, bettors spent almost $1.2 million at ESPN BET at Hollywood Casino.
However, the story was much different for revenues. BetMGM paid out more than $5.9 million in winnings, while FanDuel paid $4.3 million, resulting in losses for these two venues.
Meanwhile, ESPN BET collected $62,763 after paying out more than $1.1 million. Ocean Downs Casino’s TwinSpires Sportsbook led with $117,242 in revenue.
