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Summer Sports Betting Slump Ends in August for Massachusetts

Dave Bonderoff

Last Updated: September 19, 2023 2:45 PM EDT • 2 min 31 sec read.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission August revenue report is out, revealing an early end to their seasonal summer sports betting slowdown. The Bay State, like other jurisdictions that have already reported their August earnings, experienced the conclusion of the summer slide in sports betting activity.

It wasn't all great news for Massachusetts legal sports betting providers, however. Thanks to an underwhelming win rate for the state's providers, revenues generated were the lowest since the launch of mobile sports betting six months ago.

Handle climbs over $300 million again

July represented the low point for the Massachusetts legal sports betting scene. It was the only month since Massachusetts sports betting went live that under $300 million was wagered in the state. $286.1 million was wagered on sports in Massachusetts in July.

Massachusetts’ best sportsbooks bounced back and took in a total of $314.9 million in bets in August, up about $19 million, or 6.8% from July's sports betting activity. $307,246,295.33 came from the Bay State's mobile providers, while retail outlets contributed $7,677,546.27 toward the total.

August's totals are nearly $270 million off of the record $584,476,649 posted during the state's first full month of online betting capabilities, March.

Revenues fall

Sportsbook revenues in Massachusetts fell victim to the betting public having success against them in August. Thanks to a rather poor 7.5% hold rate, just $23.5 million in gross revenues were reported in August.

It represents a month-over-month 22.1% dip from July, and the lowest revenue total for the Massachusetts legal sports betting scene since the best sports betting apps were introduced to the state in March.

Thanks to the 20% tax on Massachusetts sports betting sites and a 15% tax on the state's retail providers, $4.5 million in tax revenue was generated for needy state and local coffers. It takes the total year-to-date tax contribution in the seven months of operation past the $50 million mark.

DraftKings stands tall

To nobody's surprise, it was home-state DraftKings that dominated the race for the most popular Massachusetts sports betting app. DraftKings accounted for over half (52.75%) of the overall sports betting activity in the Bay State in August - the second straight month and third time in its six months of operation in the state that it has managed to do that.

DraftKings' $161.9 million August handle in Massachusetts is an impressive 11.8% increase from July and has the heavyweight sportsbook as the only provider in the jurisdiction with over $1 billion in wagers so far. $11.2 million in revenues was reported for DraftKings in August, off of an unflattering 6.9% win rate.

FanDuel was a familiar second-best Massachusetts sports betting app in August. They took in $79.4 million in wagers during the month and reported $7.6 million in revenues.

BetMGM was third with $21.2 million in bets, Barstool was fourth with $16.4 million in wagers, Caesars was fifth with $14.3, WynnBET posted $9 million in wagers, Fanatics Massachusetts had its best month ever with $4.4 million and Betr Massachusetts finished last among the eight mobile sportsbooks in the state with just over $150,000 in wagers.

Impact of the NFL

For the first time, Massachusetts residents had the chance to place a mobile bet on the bread-and-butter NFL. All eyes will be on the Bay State to see just how much of a spike that pigskin wagering will provide for the overall sports betting scene.

GeoComply, last week released a report in which they were able to track geolocation transactions. It showed that Bay State bettors turned out in droves for Week 1 of the NFL season. From Sept. 3-10, GeoComply reported 9.2 million geolocation checks. 59,000 new sports wagering accounts were created during that week alone.

So, buckle up Massachusetts legal sports betting industry. August was the last pedestrian month that they will see for quite some time. The state's record $584,476,649 monthly handle record could be in jeopardy as early as September.

Keep an eye our for the top Massachusetts sportsbook promos this season.

Written By:
Dave Bonderoff
Dave Bonderoff and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by "odds". Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn't found a sport yet that can't contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.