September was a historic month for the sports betting industry in Massachusetts, boasting the highest combined handle, revenue, and tax collections since mobile sports betting launched in March 2023.
One for the Books
The return of NFL and college football was good news for the sportsbooks operating in the Bay State and around the nation. September’s numbers are out, and the results are historically impressive. The combined handle of the state’s mobile and retail sportsbooks soared to $678.7 million, besting the previous high of $658.7 million in December. Only $11.1 million of the record-setting $678.7 million was generated via retail sportsbooks.
Revenues followed suit due to the lofty handle coupled with an average hold (win rate) topping 10.8%, resulting in $73.5 million, beating the record set in January of $71.1 million. Mobile sports betting profits of $72.2 million towered above the $1.3 million produced by the state’s three retail sportsbooks.
Lastly, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts received its biggest check since mobile sports betting joined the retail market in March 2023, with $14.6 million going to the state’s tax coffers. The previous high was $14.2 million in January. The state has now collected $187.9 million in sports betting taxes since the retail market launched in January 2023, just two months before the mobile market went live.
The year-over-year improvements were staggering, with the handle up nearly 31% over the $519.8 million bet the prior September. The sportsbooks’ revenue increased just shy of 48%, with profits of $75.4 million in September this year compared to $51 million generated in September 2023.
DraftKings Maintains Its Rule in Massachusetts
In many markets, Boston-based DraftKings is the Robin to FanDuel’s Batman, but in its home state of Massachusetts, the opposite is true. DraftKings routinely wins the Bay State’s popularity contest, and September was more of the same. DraftKings led all challengers with $355.2 million in accepted wagers, which delivered a healthy $38.8 million in revenue on an 11.2% hold.
FanDuel was a distant second with a $182.4 million handle and an impressive 12.3% hold, which generated $22.1 million, over $17 million less than the hometown hero.
BetMGM took home September’s bronze medal with $45.6 million in accepted wagers, but its lofty 12% hold produced $5.5 million in revenues.
Fanatics has made impressive gains in its ever-expanding footprint across the American digital sports betting landscape, and September was no exception as it announced the arrival of the company’s new record in the Bay State with a $37.9 million handle. It was the first time the company had accepted more than $26 million in bets in Massachusetts, producing revenues of just $1.9 million on a meager 5% hold.
The remaining three active sportsbooks in the state rounded out the bottom, with ESPN BET handling $22.4 million in bets, resulting in revenues of $2.2 million. Caesars posted a handle of $19.5 million, producing a $1.4 million monthly profit. Bally Bet was the least popular sportsbook in Massachusetts, with $4.7 million in total bets for September, which generated $465,000 in revenue.
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