Massachusetts Sports Betting Handle Surges to $447 Million for August

Massachusetts Sports Betting Handle Surges to $447 Million for August article feature image
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The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported $447.3 million in sports betting handle for August on Monday, a 42% year-over-year increase.

The late-summer action pushed the year-to-date handle above $4.4 billion. That is up 71.5% from the first eight months of 2023, but it is not a like-for-like comparison, as mobile wagering did not commence in the Bay State until March of last year. Handle was also up 8.6% from July, but a drop in the hold of more than 2.5 percentage points sent month-over-month revenue tumbling 18.3%.

The state's three retail sportsbooks and seven mobile operators had an unspectacular month, combining for a 7.7% hold to claim $34.5 million in gross sports betting revenue. It was the fourth-lowest hold in 20 months of wagering, but also one-quarter of a percentage point higher than 12 months prior. The state was eligible to tax $33.3 million in adjusted gross revenue, redirecting $6.6 million into its coffers.

DraftKings Continues to Hold Sway in Home State

Massachusetts-based DraftKings continued to rule the mobile roost, as its $229.4 million handle accounted for more than half of the $439.7 million wagered digitally for August.

Its outsized market share contributed to the online titan taking the top spot in revenue, collecting $16.8 million despite a 7.1% win rate. DraftKings surpassed $200 million in year-to-date gross winnings with the month's haul while also topping $2.2 billion handle.

FanDuel was a distant second in both categories, notching a 9.3% hold to claim $10.9 million in winnings from $118.2 million worth of wagers. That ended a four-month run of double-digit holds for FanDuel, which still has a 10.8% win rate for the year and close to $137 million in revenue.

BetMGM snared the final podium spots in both categories, as its 7.6% hold from $31.1 million handle resulted in close to $2.4 million in revenue. Its year-over-year revenue ticked down 4.2% despite a 46.5% bounce in handle, as its win rate plunged four percentage points.

Fanatics Sportsbook was able to distance itself from both ESPN BET and Caesars for the No. 4 spots in both categories. Its $25.9 million handle was an all-time monthly high in the Bay State, an increase more than six-fold from last August. The 6.3% hold — less than half that from 12 months prior — resulted in $1.6 million in revenue.

ESPN BET's handle of $16.7 million was only a 1.3% increase from predecessor Barstool Sportsbook's action last year, but an 8.2% win rate meant revenue more than doubled to nearly $1.4 million. The PENN Entertainment-owned sportsbook, though, has seen handle decline every month since reaching a peak of nearly $50 million in December.

Caesars' 4.5% hold was the lowest among mobile operators and resulted in a revenue haul of $713,900 from $16 million in bets place. Caesars has topped the 7% industry standard hold just twice in the last 11 months and is the only active online book not to attain an 8% win rate in that span.

Bally Bet nearly doubled its revenue from July in its second month of business in Massachusetts, leading all digital books with a 9.4% hold to claim $228,500 in winnings from $2.4 million handle. Its win rate climbed nearly 4.4 percentage points, while handle increased by less than $15,000.

About the Author
Chris is a Senior Analyst at Better Collective US and his focus is breaking down monthly sports betting revenue figures from state agencies across the United States. Prior to joining Better Collective in November 2019, Chris acquired more than two decades worth of experience at three national sports news wire services.

Follow Chris Altruda @altruda73 on Twitter/X.

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