The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced that the Bay State accepted $748 million in wagers last month, a 10.2% increase.
The jump in action did not translate to better revenue, however. After reporting more than $73 million in revenue in September, October brought in just $48.3 million.
That means that state’s tax bill from sports wagering fell from $14.6 million to $9.6 million.
Following an industry-friendly 11% hold in September, when the NFL season kicked off, bettors became more acclimated, and October’s hold came in at a much lower 6.8%.
Curious case of Fanatics
Of the seven online Massachusetts sports betting operators, six shared the same trend. When the state as a whole sees an extra $68 million in wagers every sportsbook should benefit. But Fanatics was the only operator to see a drop in action.
On the flip side, more wagers did not translate to more revenue. The only sportsbook to see their revenue increase month-over-month was Fanatics.
| Operator | October Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $383.3 million | $24.4 million |
| FanDuel | $215.4 million | $15.1 million |
| BetMGM | $49.6 million | $3.5 million |
| Fanatics | $35.2 million | $2 million |
| ESPN BET | $25 million | $1.5 million |
| Caesars | $21.1 million | $1.2 million |
| Bally Bet | $5 million | $352,000 |
Both DraftKings and FanDuel combined saw just over 81% of the entire online space.
Retail sportsbooks struggle to make revenue
Just like the online books, the retail side enjoyed an increase in handle but in the end came up with less money.
The state’s three brick and mortar locations announced $13 million in wagers, up roughly 18%, but revenue was down by more than 99% from $1.3 million in September to just $5,000 last month.
The reason is an incredibly low hold of 1.7%. Plus, only one sportsbook (MGM Springfield) made a profit. The other two locations actually saw more action but made no money.
In the end, the state made just $792 in taxes from retail betting.
