Massachusetts sports betting has been legal for a month and 10 days, and it is already a huge hit.
According to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), verified online sportsbooks reported a betting handle in excess of $548 million in March. Notably, online sports betting only launched on March 10, meaning that just over 32% of the month’s days didn’t count towards the first-month online handle.
Massachusetts was able to collect $9.1 million thanks to the impressive handle.
Massachusetts launched its sports betting market on January 31 but only in select retail locations. About a month and a half later and just before March Madness betting poured in, it unveiled the highly-anticipated online arm.
The total handle between the online and retail betting locations topped $568.1 million during March. Nearly $47.1 million of that was considered taxable revenue, of which the state collected $9.3 million.
The six approved online betting outlets proved to be far more attractive destinations than their brick-and-mortar affiliates, as is the case in nearly every state with legal sports betting. Online books were responsible for 96.5% of the total March betting handle and 97.6% of taxes paid to the state.
Here’s how each company performed in total betting handle in March:
DraftKings is headquartered in Boston and marked its return to its home state with a huge handle roughly 142.2% the amount of the second-highest, FanDuel. Despite that, FanDuel narrowly produced the most taxable revenue ($3.2 million compared to $3.1 million for DraftKings.)
BetMGM, Barstool, WynnBet, and Caesars combined to yield a March betting handle of about $109.4 million, less than half of that of DraftKings and significantly behind FanDuel.
DraftKings has partnerships in place with the Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, and Boston Red Sox, among other teams, which are coming in handy. The Celtics and Bruins are both in prime positions for a run to their respective championships, while the Red Sox are still enjoying the excitement of being less than a month into the new MLB season.
According to the MGC, Massachusetts has received $9.7 million in tax funding since sports betting first launched at three local casinos at the end of January. That was an important component for lawmakers during their debates over whether or not they should create a legal sports betting market.
45% of taxes collected from sports betting operators go to the general state fund. Smaller portions are allocated to addressing problem gambling, building the workforce, investing in the youth, and boosting public health.
Massachusetts was given a boost during its first month of online operation because of March Madness, the highly-popular annual college basketball tournament known for some of the wildest and most unpredictable outcomes in American sports. Massachusetts did not have any local representatives in the tournament but did have proximity to a major player.
The University of Connecticut, whose campus is an hour and a half from Boston, won the tournament in dominating fashion. They became the only team in tournament history to win at least six games by 13+ points and capped the tournament off with a 76-59 win over No. 5 San Diego State University.
There are a few major events in the world of sports that Massachusetts operators will be able to key in on over the coming months before an extended dead period. Those events are, most notably, the NBA playoffs and NHL playoffs, which will both end in mid-June. After that, the only major American sport in session will be baseball until college football returns in early fall.
Grant is a sports and sports betting journalist who prides himself in his up-to-the-minute reporting on the latest events in the industry. A member of Virginia Tech’s 2021 graduating class, he has quickly put together an impressive portfolio since moving to the professional world full-time. Grant’s favorite sports to cover are basketball and both types of football (American and soccer), and he is pushing written, audio, and video content. He has been employed by companies as highly regarded as Forbes and continues on a great trajectory in the industry. When he’s not on the clock, you can find Grant at the gym, looking for adventures, or hanging out with his family.
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