Maryland has recorded $442.5 million in handle for the month of September, up 67.8% from August’s $263.7 million. Taxable revenue also increased 26.4% from $17.0 million in August to $21.5 million in September.
Mobile continues to dominate in MY
Maryland mobile sports wagering was the largest component of total wagering, making up 95.1% of total wagers for the month. For the month of September, there were 13 retail sports betting operatives and 12 mobile sportsbooks in the Old Line State.
MY retail sports betting handle jumped 60.8% from $13.4 million to $21.5 million, with both Whitman Gaming and Canton Gaming’s new sportsbooks reporting a full month’s revenue for the first time and thus experiencing five digit percentage growth.
Retail hold rebounded from a low 3.5% in August to hit an above-average 11.9% for September. The combination of better margins and stronger handle resulted in a 250.0% revenue growth month-over-month for land based venues. Taxable revenue from operators was $2.3 million, up from $653,079 in August. As such, retail contributions to state rose to over $340,000 for the month.
MY mobile sports betting handle rose 68.1% month-over-month to $421.0 million from $250.4 million in September. The two largest operators are DraftKings, and FanDuel (operating with Live! Casino). DraftKings’ handle grew 67.6% month-over-month from $92.0 million in August to $154.1 million in September. DK held 36.6% market share by handle for September. FanDuel’s handle grew 68.0% to $175.0 million in September month-over-month. The Flutter Entertainment owned brand took 41.6% market share by handle.
Promotional spend rockets with the NFL underway
As expected, with September featuring the beginning of the National Football League season, promotional spend jumped 194.0%, up from $8.1 million in August to $24.0 million in September. For the four months of the year-to-date, September’s promotional spend made up a total of 86.0% of total YTD spend.
The biggest spending on promotional came from DraftKings and FanDuel, who both spent upwards of $8 million. Fanatics Betting and Gaming continued aggressive marketing spend, spending over $2.4 million, with BetMGM spending just shy of $3 million. All other operators were comfortably under the million mark.
How significant was the shift back to football betting?
When looking at wagers by sport, the start of the new professional and collegiate football seasons were evident in handle figures. Wagering on NCAA Football rose 1002.6% from $5.2 million in August to $57.2 million in September. Similarly, wagering on NFL rose 743.2% from $9.0 million to $76.0 million. With the new glut in sporting fixtures, parlay and combination bets also saw a 101.2% increase, reaching $150.3 million in September, up from $74.7 million month-over-month.