Maryland sports bettors produced the second-lowest operator hold over the last 12 months during March Madness.
Key Takeaways
- Maryland sportsbooks weren’t able to capitalize on a 9.6% year-over-year handle increase during March Madness.
- College basketball accounted for 15% of bets made on individual sports, but parlay revenue fell significantly from February.
- FanDuel led all operators with a $249.8-million handle in March.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported a March handle of $588.5 million, a 9.6% year-over-year increase. The 11 Maryland online sports betting operators and 12 retail sportsbooks generated $47.8 million in gross revenue, which was up 6% from March 2024.
The 8.1% win rate was down slightly from the 8.4% produced during the same month in the previous year, but it's the lowest since December 2024’s 7.2% hold. Maryland operators have only produced two more holds lower than that since online sports betting launched in November 2022.
March Madness wasn’t as strong for operators as February’s Super Bowl, which produced a 12.6% hold and nearly $60 million in revenue during the previous month.
March’s adjusted revenue of $29.5 million led to $4.4 million in tax revenue going toward the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund and the Problem Gambling Fund, which has generated more than $157 million since December 2021.
Basketball dominates
During college basketball’s premier tournament month, the sport generated $87.6 million, which accounted for nearly 15% of all bets. Only the NBA drew more action with a $150.6-million handle.
Operators won back 5.2% of March Madness wagers to haul in $4.5 million in revenue. NBA betting created $7.3 million to lead all individual sports in March. Tennis was third with a little more than $2 million in revenue, while hockey generated another $1 million of profits for sportsbooks.
Parlays produced a 12% hold on a $219.7-million handle to give operators $26.4 million in revenue for the month. That’s down $17 million from February's Super Bowl month.
FanDuel’s monthly revenue drops $10 million
| Online Operator | March Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $249.8 million | $23 million |
| DraftKings | $177.9 million | $14.4 million |
| BetMGM | $49.1 million | $3.6 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $38.4 million | $2.8 million |
| Caesars | $27.3 million | $1.7 million |
| ESPN BET | $17.4 million | $1.1 million |
Maryland online sports betting accounted for $573.3 million of March’s total handle while also collecting all but $364,000 of the sportsbook revenue.
FanDuel led all operators with a $249.8-million handle, up $47 million from the previous month. Revenue of $23 million was also tops in Maryland among the top six operators, as was the 9.2% hold, but profits were down nearly $10 million from February.
DraftKings also saw a month-over-month action boost with a $177.9-million handle while its $14.4 million in revenue was down $2 million from February. BetMGM finished March with the third-highest betting total of $49.1 million and $3.6 million in revenue.
Fanatics Sportsbook’s $38.4-million handle was fourth, with Caesars coming in fifth at $27.3 million. ESPN BET was the only other operator over $15 million. Fanatics had the best hold of that group with a 7.4% win rate.
Taking action
Earlier this week, Maryland became the sixth U.S. state to send cease-and-desist letters to prediction market platforms that are offering sports-event outcome contracts to all 50 states.
Old Line State regulators went after Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com for not holding a Maryland sports betting license. Kalshi has been arguing that it doesn’t need a state license to operate because it's federally regulated.
Maryland lawmakers are also looking to put an end to the operation of sweepstakes gaming companies, which offer casino and sportsbook wagering through free coins that can be turned into cash and prizes.
