Marylanders watched the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments but could not cheer for a local school. Howard University lost in the First Four and the University of Maryland women’s team fell in the first round. But still, the state saw plenty of sports betting action.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming announced that their online and retail operators saw a combined $536.7 million in wagers last month, nearly $100 million more than February’s haul. On top of that, the state’s betting market is still growing. March’s handle was 39% higher than last year.
While action increased year-over-year, the tax bill was lower. In 2023, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund received $5.3 million from the state’s sportsbooks while, last month, that number dropped to $4.8 million.
The overall hold came to 8.4%, with retail operators keeping 7.6% of their bets. Parlays and their 17% hold was a major contributor. When it came to a single sport wager, the NBA saw the highest handle (30% of wagers). NCAA basketball was second with 15.6% of the money, no other sport reached double digit percentage.
FanDuel dominates behind promos
Sports betting in Maryland, like nearly every betting state, gets a majority of its wagers online. Less than 3% of the action in the Old Line State comes from a physical sportsbook.
Of the 11 mobile operators, FanDuel was king. The book's $247.8 million in bets was 47.4% of the entire statewide handle. And the $19 million in taxable revenue was 62% of the statewide haul. Since FanDuel were so dominant, the company's promotional spend was way higher than the competition. FanDuel deducted $6.3 million, nearly double DraftKings’ $3.3 million.
ESPN BET on the other hand deducted zero in promotions in March but was unable to make money despite seeing over $30 million in bets.
| Operator | March Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $247.8 million | $19.6 million |
| DraftKings | $155.1 million | $7.6 million |
| BetMGM | $42.8 million | $2.7 million |
| ESPN BET | $31.9 million | $0 |
| Caesars | $21.3 million | $756,000 |
| Fanatics | $14.1 million | $308,000 |
| BetRivers | $6.6 million | $452,000 |
| BetParx | $574,000 | $54,000 |
| BetFred | $567,000 | $844 |
| SuperBook | $562,000 | $26,000 |
| Crab Sports | $509,000 | $0 |
