At this rate, mobile sports wagering cannot come fast enough for those making bets in Maryland.
Despite a 19% month-over-month drop in sports betting handle for July, according to figures from Maryland Lottery and Gaming, the state’s retail sportsbooks posted their sixth hold of 10% or higher in eight months of activity. They saw a 54.7% rise in gross revenue — to more than $2 million — compared to May.
The Old Line State has been slow to put mobile wagering in place, with the lucrative NFL season fast approaching. In the interim, a good portion of the action has gone in the house’s favor — it has an all-time win rate of 11.4% since launch and 10.7% through the first seven months of this year.
Operators bettered those numbers in July, with the six sites combining to post a 13.1% hold on nearly $15.5 million worth of wagers, the lowest handle in eight months of activity. After $38,699 in deductions were taken, the state was able to tax nearly $2 million, resulting in $298,177 for state coffers. Maryland has generated $2.7 million in taxes in 2022 and close to $3.2 million since launching last December.
MGM National Harbor bounces back in big way
July #SportsBetting numbers for #Maryland via @MDLottery, a 🧵. Rankings out of 8 months in parentheses.
Handle: $15,492,757 (8)
GGR: $2,026,548 (6)
GGR Win Rate: 13.08% (4)
AGR: $1,987,849 (6)
AGR Win Rate: 12.83% (4)
Promo/Ded: $38,699
Taxes: $298,1771/x #GamblingTwitter
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) August 10, 2022
MGM National Harbor has had wild monthly swings throughout 2022, evidenced by four months with double-digit holds and two with a win rate below 1%. For July, it set the yearly high for any book in Maryland with a hold of nearly 20%. It claimed $804,449 from nearly $4.1 million handle while becoming the second book to clear $50 million in accepted wagers for 2022.
Bettors continued to struggle against TwinSpires, which runs the retail book at Ocean Downs Casino. It extended a perfect streak of double-digit holds to all eight months, this time with a healthy 12.4% mark to retain $107,362 of the nearly $870,000 in wagers.
Live! Casino, which has been the frontrunner for handle and surpassed $75 million for the year with July’s report, notched its fifth hold of 10% or higher. The 12.7% mark from the Fan Duel-powered book resulted in $786,879 in gross revenue from $6.2 million in handle.
Though Horseshoe Baltimore had its run of double-digit holds end at four months with a 8.1% win rate for July, its Caesars Sportsbook was the only venue to report a month-over-month increase in handle. It accepted $3.3 million in wagers, leading to just shy of $270,000 in revenue.
Hollywood Casino in Perryville may be the favorite for the betting public as the Barstool Sportsbook venue became the first in the state to have back-to-back months with sub-5% win rates. Bingo World, which launched a sportsbook through BetRivers at the end of last month, kept all but $67 of the $1,990 in wagers to create a skewed yet stratospheric 96.6% hold.
