Massachusetts Sportsbooks Set New Revenue Record in January

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission's January revenue report revealed record revenues across the state's best sports betting sites and nearly a monthly handle record, as well.

Despite a diminished NFL schedule in January, Massachusetts sports betting apps, combined with the state's retail providers, rode the second-best hold rate ever for the state's best sports betting apps to new revenue highs.

It was the second-best sports betting activity ever seen in the state and took the Massachusetts sports betting scene past the $5-billion lifetime handle mark after just 13 months of operation.

As always, home-state DraftKings, which is headquartered in Boston, was by far the most popular best sportsbook in the state last month.

$651.7-million handle

The sites with the best Massachusetts sportsbooks promos reported $651.7 million in reported bets in January. It is a 1.1% or about a $7 million decrease from the record $658.7 million in sports wagering activity in December.

January 2023 was a month in which the best live betting sites weren't yet active in Massachusetts. Just retail sports betting was legal at that time.

Massachusetts sports betting sites were responsible for the overwhelming majority of sports wagering activity last month, as 99.4% of all accepted bets came from the sites with the best sportsbook promos in Massachusetts.

Revenue record set in January

Roughly $72.7 million in gross sports betting revenue was reported in the Massachusetts market for January. It is a 17% increase from the previous record, thanks in part to an 11.1% hold rate for state sportsbooks.

That figure is second to the 13.6% win rate for Massachusetts sportsbooks in May 2023. The win-rate number is up 1.7% from the handle-record month of December, allowing for all-time highs in revenues despite a dip in handle.

Around $14.2 million in taxes was collected for Massachusetts state and local coffers from the $71.1 million in adjusted gross revenue during January.

Finally, $108 million in lifetime tax contributions have come from Massachusetts best sportsbooks.

DraftKings flexes home-turf muscle

Hometown DraftKings and its highly sought-after DraftKings promo codes continued to dominate the state's legal sports betting market. It reported $311.4 million in accepted wagers in January, nearly 48% of all sports bets taken in by state providers. Its 13.4% hold rate produced a record single-provider monthly revenue record of $36.9 million. January marked the fourth time in 11 months that DraftKings reported over $30 million in profits for a single month in the state,

DraftKings has now accounted for more than 50% of the overall mobile sports betting handle in Massachusetts. Its $274.5 million in gross revenues is just under half of the entire revenue total for Massachusetts sports betting sites.

FanDuel was second and had its best month ever in the Massachusetts market with $194 million in reported bets and $25.6 million in January revenue off a state-best 13.2% hold.

ESPN BET checked in third among Massachusetts sportsbooks with a $45.4 million January handle, a somewhat troubling 9.2% decrease from December. Its underwhelming 4.5% hold rate produced just $2 million in gross revenue for the provider.

BetMGM was fourth with $36.8 million in accepted January bets, with $4 million in revenue thanks to a good 10.8% hold.

Fanatics rounded the top 5 with a $15.5 million January handle and $1 million in profits, thanks to a 7.1% hold. Fanatics experienced a 13.6% month-over-month increase in wagering activity in the state.

The two departing sportsbooks from the Massachusetts market, WynnBET and Betr, struggled during the month, combining for about $12.3 million in combined wagers.