DraftKings Leads Operators’ Rout Of Massachusetts Bettors In May

DraftKings continued to hold sway in its home state of Massachusetts, accounting for nearly half the $62.1 million in gross sports wagering revenue for the month of May, according to figures released Thursday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

The online titan has made it a point to flex its muscles where it is headquartered, and that continued as DraftKings also accounted for almost half the $443.6 million online handle generated among the Bay State’s eight online operators. It posted a hold of 3.9% to keep $30.6 million in winnings.

Overall, sportsbooks kept nearly $62.1 million in gross revenue to fashion a 13.6% hold from $455 million handle, continuing what has been a banner May for the house nationwide. All 11 states that have published revenue reports have seen operators post win rates of 10.8% or higher for the month. Handle dropped 21.5% compared to April, but gross revenue ticked 2.9% higher as the hold climbed by more than 3.2 percentage points.

The state was able to tax almost $61 million in adjusted gross revenue, resulting in more than $12.1 million flowing into state coffers. Massachusetts operators have generated $33.2 million in taxes since the launch of online betting in March and nearly $33.6 million since the first bets were placed Jan. 31.

Betr and Fanatics enter the scene

Running May Top 10 #SportsBetting handle by state:

1 New York $1.36B
2 MASSACHUSETTS ~$455M
3 Maryland $320.2M
4 Indiana $283.4M
5 Tennessee $279.8M
6 Iowa $147.72M
7 Oregon $52.12M
8 West Virginia $31.91M
9 Washington DC $12.53M
10 Montana $4.46M#GamblingTwitter

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) June 15, 2023

Two mobile operators, Betr and Fanatics, made their Massachusetts debuts in May. Betr, known primarily as a microbetting platform, launched May 10 and had handle just shy of $593,000. Its 7.9% hold ranked sixth among the eight operators, as it kept just over $47,000 in gross revenue.

Fanatics, which has been rapidly expanding its online wagering operations nationwide and is now in four states, began beta testing in the Bay State on May 25. It accepted more than $123,000 in bets, posting a healthy 34% win rate in generating nearly $42,000 in gross revenue.

While DraftKings has received the bulk of action in the first three months, FanDuel has settled in as a strong No. 2. It narrowly cleared $20 million in gross revenue for May thanks to a robust 14.8% hold on $135.3 million handle. BetMGM, however, took honors for the best win rate among mobile books with a minimum seven-figure handle at 15.7%, which helped it claim close to $5.5 million in revenue from almost $35 million worth of wagers.

Barstool Sportsbook enjoyed a solid May, posting an 11.4% hold to reap $1.8 million in winnings from just over $16 million handle. Caesars and WynnBET had middling months based on operator performance nationwide for May. Caesars came close to $1.4 million in revenue from $19 million handle with a 7.3% hold, while WynnBET was the lone mobile operator under the 7% industry standard, landing at 6.4% to claim close to $1.1 million in winnings off $16.4 million handle.

MGM’s retail book absorbs another loss

MGM Springfield paid out more in winning wagers than it took in bets for the second consecutive month, though the $23,538 loss on $1.9 million handle was far slimmer than April’s loss of more than $228,000 on $1.7 million in accepted bets. The brick-and-mortar book in the state capital has a modest 2.9% hold since launch, barely clearing $200,000 in gross revenue from $7.1 million handle.

Encore Boston Harbor finally put the screws to the public with its first double-digit hold since launch. It did so in emphatic fashion, with a 20.6% win rate to claim nearly $1.4 million in gross revenue from $6.7 million wagered. The WynnBET-powered brick-and-mortar book had generated $1.8 million in gross revenue in its first three-plus months of action.

Plainridge Park, meanwhile, situated itself in the middle with an 8.4% win rate to keep more than $233,000 of almost $2.8 million wagered. Encore’s outlier performance contributed to the overall retail hold reaching 13.9%, nearly 11 percentage points higher than April, from $11.4 million handle.