Maryland Sports Betting Revenue, Handle and Taxes

Maryland Sports Betting Revenue

In November 2020, Maryland passed legislation that legalized sports betting. Things took some time to get set up, as retail sports betting didn’t begin until December 2021 and online sports betting launched in November 2022. Despite the lengthy wait, sports betting in Maryland has already become incredibly popular. There are now 10 retail sportsbooks and 11 online sportsbooks operating in Maryland, including some of the biggest sportsbooks in the industry. DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, and more are widely used and contribute to the Maryland sports betting revenue figures you’re about to see.

Since sports betting has not been active in Maryland for all that long, the total revenues are not astronomical yet, but the per-month figures are quite large. Since the launch of online sports betting in November 2022, the Maryland sports betting revenue is $378,401,751. The month with the highest Maryland sports betting revenue by far was December 2022, reaching a whopping $85,168,804. We saw a slight decline in revenue from May 2023 to June 2023, but that’s likely not a cause for concern given that sports betting tends to slow down during the summer months. Once football season begins, it’s likely we will see the Maryland sports betting revenue increase once again. As time goes on, it will be interesting to see the Maryland sports betting revenue by sport and the Maryland sports betting revenue by state rankings among the entire US.

Maryland Sports Betting Taxes

Understanding the Maryland sports betting taxes is crucial, whether you are an experienced or novice bettor. It’s important to know the Maryland sports betting tax rate, as well as how to report your Maryland sports betting taxes when tax season rolls around. The Maryland sports betting tax rate is 15%, which is not the lowest of states, but still below the national average of 19%. Even though the Maryland sports betting tax rate is below average, the state has already made a decent amount of money from tax revenue. Since the launch of online sports betting in MD, the revenue from Maryland sports betting taxes has totaled $25,306,749. The Maryland sports betting taxes revenue follows the handle and revenue numbers, which have declined a tad over the last few months. We only have data for eight months of sports betting in Maryland, so it’s hard to formulate any strong correlations just yet. It’s likely that once summer ends and football, basketball, and hockey all begin their respective seasons, we will see the Maryland sports betting handle and therefore the revenue from Maryland sports betting taxes start to climb again.

Keep in mind that any winnings from sports betting must be reported as other income when filing for taxes. The good news is that the West Virginia sports betting tax rate is below the national average.

Maryland Sports Betting Handle

The handle in sports betting refers to the total amount of money wagered by a given population group. For example, there is a Maryland sports betting handle for all money wagered in MD, plus a sports betting handle for the entire US. As more states have legalized sports betting each year, the United States betting handle has increased each year as well. In 2021, the sports betting handle for the entire US was $58 billion. One year later, the handle rose to $93.7 billion, and it looks like we will see another increase in 2023.

As mentioned in the last section, we only have eight months of data for sports betting in Maryland. Month-to-month trends should not be taken as a strong correlation just yet. The first month of sports betting in MD saw the Maryland sports betting handle reach $219,071,374. The following month saw a Maryland sports betting handle of $497,121,656, which is still the highest month since the launch of legal betting. The Maryland sports betting handle for the next several months ranged from just over $320 million to $441,481,779 before dropping to just over $254 million in June 2023. While this is a significant drop from the prior months, it’s possible that this is just a slow betting month. There are fewer sports to bet on during the summer, so until we see Maryland sports betting handle figures for the rest of 2023, we shouldn’t overreact to one slower month.

Maryland Sports Betting Handle Per Capita

Sports betting handle per capita is calculated by dividing the state’s total betting handle by the state’s population. This allows us to compare the betting handle between states without the comparison being skewed by two states having different populations. Maryland ranks 19th in the US in population, so we should not expect to see the same raw sports betting handle as a state like Pennsylvania which ranks fifth in population.

Since the launch of sports betting in MD, the Maryland sports betting handle per capita has averaged $93.25 per month, which is actually fairly high. For example, Pennsylvania’s sports betting handle per capita during that same timeframe averaged $71.88. Even though Pennsylvania’s total sports betting handle during that span was over $2 billion more than the Maryland sports betting handle, the handle per capita has been higher in Maryland.

Maryland Sports Betting Hold

The sports betting hold is the percentage of money that a sportsbook keeps for every dollar bet by customers. Using an example, if a sportsbook has a monthly handle of $100 million and revenue of $20 million, that means it paid out $80 million in winnings. This means that the hold would be 20%.

Since the start of legal sports betting, the Maryland betting hold has been 13.5%, which is quite high considering the national average in 2022 was 8.1%. The Maryland sports betting hold by month has been at least 10% every month since sports betting went live, but it has dropped since the initial few months. As mentioned in virtually every other section, it’s important to remember that sports betting in Maryland still is a small sample size. Once we get additional months of data, the Maryland sports betting hold will become a truer average.