Massachusetts June Gambling Revenues were $132.8M, DraftKings on Top

Article ByDavid Weir

July 18, 2023

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Posted in: Massachusetts Gambling News, US Sports Betting News

Massachusetts’ gambling operators took in total revenues of $132.8 million over the month of June, according to the latest monthly figures from state regulator the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

The state’s sports bettors placed $323.5 million in wagers, generating $32 million in revenue for operators, just under a 10% hold. This resulted in $6.4 million in sports betting tax payments for the state.

Meanwhile, the state’s three legal casinos (Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park) brought in $100.6 million over the month. They also paid $28 million in taxes between them.

The big player for the month on the casino side was Encore Boston Harbor (pictured) at $65 million in revenue. That came despite a high-profile dispute with its unionized workers over the month that ended in narrowly avoiding a strike.

On the sports betting side, DraftKings continued a strong June showing across the U.S., further cementing its position as Massachusetts’ most popular sportsbook. It posted $159 million in handle and 49.3% of the state’s market share, handily beating out closest rival FanDuel.

DraftKings Dominates, Betr Struggles

DraftKings continues to lead the sports betting market in Massachusetts, reporting a handle of $159.4 million in June, owning 49.3% of the market. FanDuel followed with a handle of $96 million, securing a 29.7% market share.

BetMGM came in third with a handle of $25 million. It posted the state’s highest hold for June, keeping just under $4 million of that for a 14% hold.

That beats the state’s sportsbooks average of just under 10% for the month.

The rest of the market was shared among Barstool Sportsbook, Caesars, WynnBET, Fanatics, and Betr.

Betr, the micro betting app cofounded by social media star Jake Paul, continued to struggle in only its second month since launching in the state in May. It was by some distance the least popular online sportsbook with Massachusetts bettors in June, posting just $290,000 in total handle.

That’s compared to second place Fanatics, which is still in a beta launch, on $1.89 million in handle for the month.

Betr also had the lowest hold at 3.97%, meaning it made just $10,829 in taxable revenues and paid $2,165 in tax. Top operator DraftKings paid $3.027 million in tax, for comparison.

With summer months typically being a low activity period for sports, Massachusetts’ sports betting handle has been on a steady decline from the $548 million in wagers placed in March.

However, the industry is expected to see a boost starting in August with the onset of the football season.#

Busy Month for Casinos and Regulators

On the casino side, the three casino operators were on a slight dip from May’s revenues, but up year-on-year.

All three venues saw relatively modest retail sportsbook handles, with Encore Boston Harbor’s WynnBET Sportsbook pulling in the highest handle at $4.5 million.

All three also had fairly low holds, with Encore’s retail book holding just 2%, compared to the 10% online average.

Encore Boston Harbor led the way in casino revenues at $65 million for slots and table games.

MGM Springfield’s revenue for June was down from the $23.3 million reported in May, but up from the $21.1 million reported a year ago in June 2022.

The MGM Resorts International venue has been on an upward trend as it nears its five-year anniversary, with March being the third-busiest month in its history.

The casino also saw a busy weekend from June 8 to June 11, drawing in a crowd of 50,000 visitors.

To date, the state has collected about $1.46 billion in total taxes and assessments from the casino operations at MGM, Encore, and Plainridge.

June was not only busy for Massachusetts casinos, but also for the state’s regulators. It was preparing for a change of leadership that it eventually voted on during the first week of July, and it also introduced a contentious rule change for sports betting advertisements at the state’s stadiums.