Maryland sports betting handle reaches $16.5m during first month of operations

Limited to five retail sportsbooks, Maryland bettors wagered $16.5m in December 2021, according to a report from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.

US.- Sports betting in Maryland kicked off December 9 when a retail sportsbook at MGM National Harbor opened, and four more sportsbooks opened throughout the month. According to a report from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, bettors in the state wagered $16.5m in December 2021, during the first month of operations.

The legislation was signed into law by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan in May 2021, after the state’s citizens backed legal betting in a 2020 referendum. Hogan placed the first legal sports bet in MGM National Harbor. 

MGM was joined in the market by Caesars’ Horseshoe Casino and Live! Casino on 10 December; Churchill Downs’ Ocean Downs on 17 December, then Penn National’s Hollywood Casino on 23 December.

Over the remaining 22 days of the month, customers wagered $16.6m, of which $7.1m was staked via FanDuel at the Live! venue in Anne Arundel County ($1.31m in revenue). MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill – just south of Washington, DC followed by $6m staked ($988,175 in revenue). 

They were followed by Caesars’ Horseshoe in Baltimore, with $2.6m ($530,750 in revenue), Ocean Downs with $554,218 ($169,036 in revenue) and $319,001 at Hollywood Casino ($95,700 in revenue). 

In total players won back $13.4m across all five sportsbooks. The sportsbooks held nearly $3.2m, or 19.2 per cent. The state collected $469,297 based on the 15 per cent tax rate on taxable win, which was $3.1m. The taxes head to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund.

Maryland Lottery and Gaming director John Martin said: “We are truly excited that sports wagering is available, and we’re eager to do our part to keep the market growing.”

There are more operators expecting to begin retail betting in the coming weeks, with Maryland Lottery and Gaming’s Sports Wagering Application Review Commission in the process of developing the process and criteria for mobile licensing, which is not likely to launch until at least late 2022.

See also: Maryland casinos generated $172.9m in gaming revenue in December