Massachusetts October Sports Betting Revenues in, DraftKings Smashes State Records

Article ByDavid Weir

November 16, 2023

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Posted in: Massachusetts Gambling News, US Gambling News, US Sports Betting News

In an impressive show of growth and market dominance, DraftKings shattered previous records in the Massachusetts sports betting market in October.

As reported in the latest revenue release from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the state experienced a significant surge in sports betting handle and revenue over the month.

Total betting handle from online sportsbooks and Massachusetts retail sports betting hit $571 million, of which operators held on to $59.2 million as revenue. That handle is up 11.6% on September’s total.

Top player and home state hero DraftKings accounted for just shy of $305 million of that handle, marking the Boston-based operator’s best month in the state.

Overall Market Growth

The overall sports betting handle in Massachusetts reached $571.8 million in October, the second-highest in eight months of mobile wagering, and just short of the all-time high of $579.3 million, set in April.

The total market revenue amounted to $60.5 million, with a win rate of 10.6%, marking the third time revenue surpassed $60 million.

This all resulted in the state tax man collecting more than $11.8 million for the month, bringing the yearly total up to $72 million.

Of this handle, $555 million was at online books, with retail taking $16 million in wagers. That’s about 2.8% of the total wagered at retail books, which reflects the national picture of online betting’s dominance.

Record-Breaking Performance by DraftKings

October saw DraftKings set new all-time highs for both revenue and handle in Massachusetts.

The U.S. giant was the first operator in the state to surpass the $300 million mark in monthly handle, accepting $304.8 million worth of wagers, a 5% increase from its previous record in September.

This achievement translated to a revenue of $34.3 million for DraftKings, outstripping its best performance of $30.6 million in May.

The company’s success is attributed to its aggressive focus on its home state, where it has generated $756.8 million in handle over the last three months, more than double that of its closest competitor, FanDuel.

The company also spent October working on the drop of its DraftKings collaboration merch with the NBA. It marked the first time a sports league has released official clothing merch with a sportsbook. The merch launch prominently included famous local team the Boston Celtics, and included the DK logo alongside those of prominent NBA teams like the Chicago Bulls and the L.A Lakers.

Other Operators’ Performances

While DraftKings led the pack, other operators also posted significant figures.

FanDuel, though lagging behind DraftKings in handle, claimed $15.9 million in winnings from a $155.6 million handle. It also passed $1 billion in total wagers since 2023’s market opening.

BetMGM stood out as the only operator with a consistent double-digit hold, recording a 12.5% hold for the month, translating to nearly $4.4 million in revenues from $35 million in wagers.

The least-popular operator was, once again, Betr. The Jake Paul-backed sports betting and daily fantasy sports app was way behind the pack in Massachusetts, with just $324k in revenues compared to its closest competitor, WynnBET, at $13 million.

Considering WynnBET recently closed in eight states after struggling nationally, losing out to them by a wide margin is not good news for Betr.

On the retail betting side, Encore Boston Harbor’s WynnBET sportsbook was the most popular venue. It took an $8.29 million handle for the month, resulting in a $461,000 hold.

MGM Springfield’s BetMGM ‘book was the least-popular of the three sportsbooks at Massachusetts casinos. But it had the best hold rate of all three. It took in $1.9 million in bets and held on to $163,000 as revenues.