The first full month of legal sports betting set the stage for what’s to come in Massachusetts.
The Bay State reported a February handle of $25.7 million from its three operating brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. Retail sports betting became legal on the last day of January. Online and mobile went live on March 10.
Massachusetts now has something to work off of, and compare to, after it hauled in $2 million in taxable sports wagering revenue (TSWR) between Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park, according to the state’s gaming commission report released Wednesday.
The Bay State reported a hold of 8% on gross sports betting revenue.
Massachusetts took in over $300,000 in taxes on 15% of TSWR which goes toward several state funds, including responsible-gaming programs.
Retail sportsbooks take off
Encore Boston Harbor’s sportsbook, powered by WynnBet, was the top dog in retail handle debut, bringing in $16.9 million in wagers, or 34% of the Bay State’s overall haul. Its revenue topped out at over $900,000 in its first month as Encore recorded a hold of over 5.3%.
Plainridge Park sported a higher hold than Encore with a win rate of 12.8%. The Barstool Sports-run retail sportsbook racked up $7.06 million in handle with a state-best revenue of $905,000.
MGM Springfield, which uses BetMGM, held the highest win rate in the state at 15%. The sportsbook took in $1.8 million in wagers and reported revenue of over $266,000.
It’s mobile’s turn
Now that online sports betting is live in Massachusetts, the handle and revenues are expected to explode in a state with a heavy following of professional sports.
GeoComply Solutions Inc. released numbers from the first weekend of mobile sports betting that made Massachusetts the fifth-busiest state in legal sports betting in the country. And that’s without being able to bet on March Madness, as college basketball wagering is prohibited.
There are currently six licensed operators active in the Bay State: Barstool, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, and WynnBet. There could be as many as nine more licenses allowed.
This is just the start for what should be a very popular sports betting state.
