Massachusetts May Sports Betting Handle Drops But State Maintains Win Streak for the House

Sports betting revenues and the top sportsbooks throughout America have been seeing a consistent decrease from April to May. However, one notable trend in Massachusetts and other legal sports betting markets last month is bringing a positive outlook to what is typically a challenging time for the country’s premier betting platforms.

The sports betting providers in Massachusetts saw a decrease in overall betting activity in May, making it the worst month since the launch of retail sports betting in January and mobile sports betting in March. However, a strong hold rate, consistent with other jurisdictions reporting May figures, resulted in an increase in revenue for the state’s top sports betting apps.

Massachusetts is the most recent state to release its May revenues, joining the other 10 states in reporting a hold rate of 10.8% or higher.

In May, DraftKings, based in Massachusetts, was the clear leader in the state’s sports betting market, with no other local sports betting apps coming close to its success. Despite the launch of two new options, Betr and Fanatics, DraftKings continued to outperform all Massachusetts sportsbooks.

More on the Massachusetts May sports betting handle

In May, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported a legal sports betting handle of $454.9 million, which is a 21.5% decrease from April’s $574.8 million and falls about $130 million short of the record set in March for sports betting totals in Massachusetts.

In May, mobile sports betting in Massachusetts accounted for $443.5 million of the total $454.9 million handle, while retail betting was minimal.

Revenue ticked up month-over-month

In terms of revenue, the Bay State saw an increase in gross gaming revenue thanks to strong hold rates for Massachusetts sports betting providers. The state’s sportsbooks retained $62.1 million with a solid 13.6% hold.

The figure is 2.9% higher than the $60.3 million in revenues from April, when sportsbooks held 10.5%.

Tax revenue from Massachusetts’ top sports betting sites increased slightly from the previous month. In May, tax contributions reached $12.1 million, the highest total since the launch of the state’s new sports betting platform. This was an improvement from the $11.8 million in April and the $9.3 million generated in March, the platform’s inaugural month.

DraftKings flexes home-state advantage

It came as no shock that DraftKings, the home-state favorite, dominated the legal sports betting market in Massachusetts in May. DraftKings Massachusetts raked in $221.1 million of the total handle for the state, generating $30.6 million in revenues, which accounted for nearly half of the state’s total revenue. FanDuel followed closely behind with $135.3 million in handle and just over $20 million in revenues.

The top two players in the Massachusetts betting market far outperformed the state’s other best betting sites. BetMGM Massachusetts led the way with almost $35 million in bets, followed by Caesars Massachusetts with just over $19 million. WynnBET Massachusetts recorded $16.4 million in betting activity, while Barstool accumulated a $16 million handle. Betr finished with $593,000 in wagers, and Fanatics saw $123,000 in bets.

Massachusetts is on track to become a top legal sports betting state in America as the NFL season begins and the New England Patriots join the state’s sports betting offerings. The Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics are also expected to boost the state’s sports betting revenue around the same time.