Maryland’s June Gambling Revenues Down, Casinos Hold Strong

Article ByDavid Weir

July 11, 2023

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Posted in: Maryland Gambling News, US Gambling News

Maryland’s gambling market revenues declined slightly in June 2023, with a 17.2% drop from May in sports betting handle.

The state’s six casinos still declined, but kept a better pace, dropping 3.36% on the previous month’s figures. The most popular casino for Marylanders in June was MGM National Harbor (pictured), which pulled in $69 million in revenues.

The total revenue for all casinos was $163,717,230 from slot machines and table games in June 2023, according to the latest figures from Maryland Lottery and Gaming.

Despite a slight dip from the $169.4 million collected in May, this figure represents a year-over-year increase of $971,931 (0.6%) compared to June 2022.

Combined, all forms of gambling in the Free State made $194 million in revenues for operators. They contributed $72 million in state taxes, some $51 million of which was earmarked for education funding.  

Sports Betting still Mobile First

Sports betting, meanwhile, saw a big drop in handle and revenue. Bettors in Maryland placed $254 million in wagers at the 20 retail and online sportsbooks in June, compared to $320 million in May. They held on to 10.6% of those wagers as wins at $18 million, slightly under the 13.3% monthly average.

Some 95.3% of that handle came from Maryland online sportsbooks, a picture reflected across the U.S.

The drop in handle also meant revenues fell for sports operators. They paid $2.5 million in taxes for the month, which is significantly less than the state’s casinos.

However, it is traditionally a tough month for US sports betting during the off-season for most major sports. Maryland’s books also lost more than $300,000 on ice hockey wagers during the NHL finals.

Tax Contributions and Top Performers

In terms of tax contributions, Maryland’s casino gaming contributed $69,430,233 to the state in June, marking a 1.6% increase from the same month last year.

The state’s Education Trust fund received more than $50 million from gaming revenue in June, bringing the total tax contributions to the fund to more than $250 million so far this year.

In the first half of the year, Maryland casinos have generated slightly more than $1 billion.

This puts them on track to potentially surpass the total casino revenue of about $2.051 billion recorded in 2022, which itself was a 6.7% increase from $1.922 billion in the 2021 calendar year.

MGM National Harbor, near Alexandria, emerged as the top-performing casino in June, generating $69 million in revenue. Live! Casino and Hotel, near Hanover, was the second-most popular casino for Marylanders, with $57.79 million in revenues.

Rounding out the bottom of the list was Rocky Gap Casino near Cumberland, on the state border with Pennsylvania. It brought in $5.11 million in revenues over June.

Sports betting-wise, FanDuel and DraftKings remained on top. FanDuel, in first place, was the only operator surpassing $100 million handle ($108.7 million), and $1 million in taxes for the month.  

BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook took in $20.8 million and $11.9 million, respectively.

Bottom of the pack was SuperBook sports, with $442k in handle. Upcoming operator Fanatics, which is still beta testing its new offering in Maryland, took $1.6 million in bets.