May Sees Maryland Land Its Second-Best Sports Betting Tax Revenue Payout

Maryland has a higher win rate and more wagers to thank for its 10 online and retail sportsbooks generating a taxable win figure of over $30 million in May.

More wagers and a higher win rate for Maryland’s sportsbooks equaled the second-best tax revenue for the state since legal sports betting hit mobile devices in November 2022. 

The Old Line State’s 10 online sports betting sites and 10 retail locations generated a taxable win figure of $31 million that contributed a combined $4.65 million to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund and the Problem Gambling Fund  — falling shy of March’s $5.3 million record. The state gets 15% of what operators produce after promotions and deductions.

According to monthly numbers released Monday by Maryland Lottery and Gaming, the Old Line State’s operators hauled in a handle of $320.2 million, which was up 2.2% month-over-month. May’s gross revenue topped $41.1 million, up 16.4% from April, and the 13.5% hold was slightly higher than the yearly average of 13.3%.

Online and retail sportsbook operators combined to hand out over $10 million in promotions for the month, and mobile sports betting accounted for 95.3% of the overall handle while retail sportsbooks still took in $15.1 million in May wagers. 

FanDuel a fan favorite

Coming off a strong April, FanDuel continued its reign over online operators, producing a taxable win of $18 million on a handle of $146.3 million. The sportsbook contributed a whopping 58% of the tax revenue for Maryland sports betting by itself. 

DraftKings trailed its rival with a handle of $101.9 million and taxable revenue of $8.7 million. A solid 12.2% hold, however, was well short of FanDuel’s 15.9%. 

BetMGM was the only other online sportsbook in Maryland to cross the $20 million wager mark with a handle of $27.5 million, and the 12.9% hold made BetMGM the only other full-month operator in double digits.

Crossing the (Old) Line

Two new faces have recently emerged on the scene in the Old Line State but neither contributed to Maryland’s tax contributions. 

SuperBook — which went live on April 13 — produced a handle of $546,473 in its first full month of operation, but it paid out $537,659 to bettors for a 1.6% hold while handing out $44,761 in promotions. 

Fanatics Sportsbook, which partnered with Maryland Stadium Sub, held a controlled demonstration on May 30. The new licensee took in $9,479 in one day and bested bettors with a 73% hold while giving out $8,589 in promotional plays. 

Casino shakeup

With a handle of more than $4.9 million, Live! Casino took in Maryland’s most retail sports betting wagers in May. 

However, MGM National Harbor produced a higher win rate (12% to 11.5%) on a slightly lower handle of $4.8 million to produce better taxable revenue ($563,206 to $456,450). 

Six brick-and-mortar operators recorded win rates of over 10% for the month — including Maryland Sub Stadium.