Maryland Posts Largest Handle Since November 2022 Launch

The Old Line State posted their sports betting highest monthly handle in December. Maryland bettors wagered around $560 million, the highest mark since the industry launched in November 2022. Over 96% of wagers were made using online platforms.

One driving force behind the handle is the end of the NFL season, a sport that dominates the sports betting landscape. There were a total of five NFL weeks in December, which had a significant impact on the state’s sports betting handle.

"You think, ‘oh so what?’ Well, that matters," Maryland Lottery director John Martin said of the importance of the extra NFL week. "When you have five wagering weekends, particularly with the NFL, you’re going to do pretty well."

The impressive December handle finished a year that vastly outperformed expectations. Maryland initially projected that sports betting would generate around $30 million in annual tax revenue but finished with $46 million in 2023. 

The December handle is expected to result in over $6 million in tax revenue for the Maryland Future Fun, which supports that state's school systems.

FanDuel and DraftKings Continue to Lead the Way in Maryland

FanDuel and DraftKings have dominated the US market, and Maryland is no exception. FanDuel led all online sportsbooks in December with a handle of around $245 million, while DraftKings was in second with approximately $167 million. These two industry titans capture over 80% of the US sports betting market share, which seems unlikely to change soon.

The biggest surprise was that ESPN BET finished in third, ahead of BetMGM. The Penn Entertainment-operated sportsbooks recently launched but are already starting to pass BetMGM in several markets. BetMGM has had a firm grasp as the third most popular online sportsbook, but that appears to be changing. 

MGM did lead the way in retail, with the MGM National Harbor seeing over $5 million in wagers in December.