The Massachusetts Gaming Commission released a report on sports betting in September, revealing a total sports betting handle of more than $678.7 million. Sportsbooks collected more than $73.4 million in revenue from this, and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission charged more than $14.6 million in taxes.
The sports betting handle, revenue, and taxes significantly increased year-on-year, with the handle jumping by more than 32.5%. Meanwhile, revenues and taxes grew by over 47.5%. Month-on-month, sports betting increased by more than $230 million thanks to the return of the most popular betting sporting event in the U.S., the NFL.
It’s worth noting that the sports betting numbers in September benefited from the launch of Bally Bet in Massachusetts in July. However, the market also lost Barstool Sportsbook (replaced by ESPN BET), Betr, and WynnBET.
DraftKings is dominant in its home state
DraftKings was founded in 2012 in Boston as a Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operator. Although the company has expanded to provide a range of gambling options, including sports betting, it has always stuck to its roots. DraftKings is still headquartered in Boston, and its online sportsbook is the most significant contributor to Massachusetts sports betting handle and revenues.
DraftKings posted a handle of more than $355.1 million, accounting for more than 53% of the state’s total sports betting handle. From that handle, the sportsbook collected over $38.7 million in revenues and paid more than $7.7 million in taxes. While DraftKings' numbers grew considerably from September 2023, it was behind the state average. For example, its sports betting handle only increased by 22.4%.
The next most significant contributor to the handle was FanDuel Sportsbook, seeing more than $182.4 million. The Flutter-owned company got revenues of more than $22.05 million from this total, contributing over $4.4 million in taxes to Massachusetts.
| Operator | September Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $335.1 million | $38.7 million |
| FanDuel | $182.4 million | $22.05 million |
| BetMGM | $45.5 million | $5.4 million |
| Fanatics | $37.9 million | $1.8 million |
| ESPN BET | $22.3 million | $2.1 million |
| Caesars | $19.5 million | $1.3 million |
| Bally Bet | $4.6 million | $464,980 |
BetMGM and Fanatics handled more than $45.5 million and $37.9 million, respectively. BetMGM was the only MA sportsbook, except DraftKings and FanDuel, to contribute more than $1 million in taxes from its revenue of $5.4 million. Meanwhile, Fanatics only contributed over $367,000 from more than $1.8 million in revenues.
ESPN BET and Caesars both had betting handles above $10 million, with wagers worth $22.3 million and $19.5 million, respectively. The lowest amount handled by an online sportsbook was the $4.6 million spent at Bally Bet.
Retail sportsbooks hit $10 million in betting handle
While contributing just over 1.5% to the state’s total sports betting handle, the September betting handle of $11.09 million was the highest since April and the first time the state’s retail sportsbooks have handled more than $10 million since May.
As Massachusetts lawmakers consider changing how the online sports betting market operates, retail sports betting will continue to be an essential driver of sports betting revenues. In September, lawmakers discussed introducing mandatory multi-factor authentication for online sports betting accounts and sports betting limiters.
