Maryland Sports Betting Handle Hits $26.9 Million In April

Written By Hill Kerby on May 10, 2022
April-Sports-Betting-Handle

Maryland sportsbooks drew steady business in April 2022, surpassing $25 million in sports betting handle for the fourth consecutive month. In total, $26.9 million was wagered, with $24 million returned to MD bettors in prizes, resulting in a $2.8 million (10.5%) hold for the state’s sportsbooks. 

Nearly all of that $2.8 million was taxable, and as such, 15% of that total ($415,801) was contributed to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund. This fund supports public education programs across the state.

How the numbers fare

Five of Maryland’s six casinos have sports betting facilities on-site. Those five sportsbooks accepted a combined $26,908,845 in wagers (handle), good for the third-highest total in the state’s five-month betting history. 

MonthHandlePrizes PaidRevenueHold %State Contribution (Tax)
December 2021$16,552,430$13,382,430$3,170,00019.2%$469,297
January 2022$32,530,831$28,155,515$4,375,31613.4%$644,098
February 2022$25,526,148$24,570,771$955,3773.7%$134,628
March 2022$31,025,892$27,098,319$3,927,57312.7%$577,019
April 2022$26,908,845$24,070,344$2,838,50110.5%$415,801

Of these five months, January and March’s totals were aided by the NFL playoffs and March Madness. January and March were also the two most profitable months for Maryland sportsbooks. January’s 13.4% hold generated more than $4.3 million in pre-tax revenue. March’s 12.7% hold fell just shy of $4 million.

April’s 10.5% hold resulted in $2.8 million in monthly revenue for the state’s books, the fourth-highest to date. December 2021 was the best month on the books percentage-wise, as a 19.2% hold generated $3.17 million in revenue despite a handle of just $16.5 million.

In Maryland’s five-month sports betting history, the fiscal year-to-date handle totals $132.5 million with $117.2 million returned in prizes, resulting in $14.9 million in taxable winnings. Of that, $2,240,845 has been contributed to the state’s education fund. 

Live! has highest handle, Horseshoe with highest hold in April

Looking at each of the five sportsbooks in Maryland, Live! Casino & Hotel was the busiest by a long shot. Its $13.3 million handle accounted for nearly half of the action in the entire state and was nearly double its next-closest competitor in MGM National Harbor ($7.3 million). 

Live! also experienced an 11.8% hold. This generated $1.5 million of the state’s total $2.7 million in taxable winnings for the month. Meanwhile, MGM’s hold was much lower (6.9%), resulting in taxable winnings of $486,839.

Horseshoe Baltimore had the third-highest handle for the month, accepting $3.89 million in wagers. It coupled that with a state-leading 14.1% hold, which generated $540,603 in taxable winnings. 

CasinoHandle Prizes PaidHold %Taxable WinningsState Contribution
Live! Casino & Hotel$13,324,594$11,746,63711.8%$1,545,339$231,801
MGM National Harbor$7,311,057$6,805,9406.9%$486,839$73,025
Horseshoe Casino Baltimore$3,897,570$3,347,22314.1%$540,603$81,090
Hollywood Casino Perryville$1,239,388$1,165,8445.9%$70,525$10,578
Ocean Downs Casino$1,136,234$1,004,69811.6%$128,695$19,304

Live! has a five-month total handle of $59.4 million, roughly 44% of the state’s $132.5 million lifetime handle. Its 11.2% hold in that time has accounted for $6.5 million in taxable winnings, with $980,200 in state contributions. That number is likely to exceed $1 million in May. 

MGM National Harbor follows with a $40.6 million lifetime handle and $4.2 million in taxable winnings. That’s good for $639,245 in state contributions. Horseshoe Baltimore is third with a $19.8 million handle, $2.6 million in winnings, and $390,302 in state contributions.

Maryland mobile sports betting delayed?

Maryland legalized sports betting in December 2021, but sportsbooks could only accept wagers at retail locations. Of course, with the majority of sports wagers placed via a device, mobile sports betting in Maryland can only hope to follow as soon as possible. 

Ultimately, past discussions had centered around a launch date of September 2022, before the beginning of the NFL season. 

But more recently, Caesars CEO Tom Reeg stated he was skeptical that Maryland would get mobile sports betting off the ground anytime in 2022. Caesars is already operational within the market through Horseshoe Baltimore.

On the other hand, Penn National is more optimistic and believes mobile betting will launch sometime in 2022. 

More info to come later this month

The Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) will be holding a meeting on Wednesday, May 18. SWARC also recently held a summit for small businesses on May 6 as well as its last monthly meeting on April 21, where no real progress was made toward a launch of online sports wagering. 

For the latest on mobile sports betting in the Old Line State, be sure to check out PlayMaryland‘s Live Updates page.

Photo by Shutterstock
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Hill Kerby

Hill Kerby is a proponent of legal, safe, and responsible gambling. He feels fortunate to be able to contribute to the growing betting industry through his writing, primarily using his background in poker, sports, and psychology to do so.

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