Editor's Note: Story revised at 6:36 p.m. on May 15.
After sports betting in Massachusetts launched in a big way in March, the Commonwealth took a small step ahead in April.
The official monthly figures were released Monday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC).
The original release incorrectly had figures indicating that the total and mobile handle had gone down, not up. Revised figures were issued later.
Total sports betting (retail, mobile) handle for the month generated more than $579.26 million, up about 2% from March's $568 million. Mobile sports betting launched March 10, so the March figures cover only 21 days. April was the first full month for mobile sports wagers in the state.
Massachusetts betting apps handled more than $566.23 million, up 3.3% from March ($548.1 million). The state’s retail sports wagering handle took a hit, coming in at more than $13.025 million, a solid 34.8% decrease from March ($19.988 million).
The Commonwealth opened three retail sportsbooks on Jan. 31 and then launched with six mobile providers a few weeks later.
Rosy Picture on Revenue
The state’s sports betting taxable gaming revenue posted at $58.91 million ($58.54M online, $364,482 retail), a significant 25.2% increase from March's $47M combined ($45.6M online, $1.45M retail).
Lawmakers in Boston were happy as the month's sports betting taxes garnered more than $11.8 million ($11.79M online, $89,546 retail), a solid 26.3% jump from March’s $9.33M ($9.12M online, $218,296 retail).
All three casinos in the state - MGM Springfield (BetMGM Massachusetts), Plainridge Park Casino (Barstool Sportsbook) and Encore Boston Harbor (WynnBET) in Everett - launched their brick-and-mortar locations as Category 1 sports wagering operators on Jan. 31.
Encore Boston Harbor led the way in retail handle for April at more than $7.98 million, followed by Plainridge Park ($3.39M) and MGM Springfield ($1.65M) followed. All three show decreases from March.
DraftKings, which is based in Boston, accounted for more than half of the total in April handle numbers by mobile operator. The DraftKings amount was higher than the other five combined. Here is the breakdown:
- DraftKings: $283.84 million
- FanDuel: $172.63M
- BetMGM: $42.96M
- Barstool Sportsbook: $24.58M
- WynnBet Massachusetts: $22.81M
- Caesars: $19.42M
The field of operators will grow in subsequent reports with Betr Massachusetts Sportsbook making its debut May 11 and Fanatics possibly launching this month.
Taxable gaming revenue by each mobile sportsbook: DraftKings ($28.28M), FanDuel ($21.71M), BetMGM ($4.61M), Barstool ($1.9M), Caesars ($1.63M) and WynnBET ($405,978). A 20% online tax is implemented on each mobile provider.
Back to Earth at All 3 Casinos
After a record-breaking month at the state's casinos, all three dropped a bit in April. Total combined handle: $828.54M, down 4.4% from March's $866.6M.
Encore Boston Harbor generated more than $427.11 million in handle, down more than $10M from March. MGM Springfield came in at more than $211.58M, also (more than $15M) from March. Plainridge Park generated $189.82M, down more than $9M from $198.51M.
Revenue for all three posted at more than $101.16M, a small 3.2% decrease from March’s $104.51M.
BetMassachusetts.com will provide timely financial reports, all the latest on sports betting and Massachusetts sportsbook promos.
