Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported $50.4 million in gross sports betting revenue for April on Friday as FanDuel powered sportsbooks to a double-digit hold in the Old Line State.

The online juggernaut accounted for more than 60% of the total operator winnings, posting a hold just shy of 14% after claiming $30.8 million in winnings from $221.1 million handle. Operators statewide finished with a 10.4% win rate, though mobile sportsbooks combined to reach 10.6% while offsetting a 2.9% hold on the retail side.

The $50.4 million in gross revenue was up 41.5% from last year, while the $486.3 million sports betting handle was a year-over-year increase of 48.1%. Maryland sportsbooks also topped $2 billion in accepted wagers for the 2024 calendar year.

The state was eligible to levy its 15% tax on $37.9 million in adjusted gross revenue, resulting in an inflow of $5.7 million into state coffers. The $23 million in receipts for the first four months of the year is $8.9 million ahead of last year’s pace, with adjusted revenue up 63.3% at $153.3 million.

1 MARYLAND $486,3M
2 West Virginia $34.4M
3 Montana $5.5M
4 TBD
5 TBD
6 TBD
7 TBD
8 TBD
9 TBD
10 TBD#SportsBettingX #GamblingX

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) May 10, 2024

There was no resting on its laurels in April by FanDuel as the leading sports betting app in the Old Line State aggressively courted business while winning big. It accounted for nearly 80% of the $11.1 million outlay in promotional credits and bonuses among 12 mobile operators, lavishing $8.6 million in goodies to its bettors.

That contributed to its handle representing 46.5% of the $475 million in digital bets placed in April. FanDuel crossed the $30 million gross revenue threshold for the fifth time in 18 months of mobile betting in Maryland and posted a double-digit win rate for the fifth straight month and 17th time overall.

FanDuel’s eternal rival DraftKings extended its run of eight-figure gross revenue totals to eight months after claiming $12.1 million from $141.7 million in handle, good for an 8.6% hold. Its promotional spend was barely 20% of FanDuel’s at $1.8 million, its lightest outlay since putting for $1.5 million in credits last July.

ESPN BET edged out BetMGM for the No. 3 spot in handle by $1.2 million, taking $35.6 million in wagers to BetMGM’s $34.4 million. But the PENN Entertainment-run mobile sportsbook failed to make hay, finishing with a 2.5% hold in winning $900,000. It was the third time in four months this year ESPN BET posted a sub-4.5% hold.

Additionally, with state regulations not allowing loss carryover for more than three months, ESPN BET paid taxes for the first time in the 2024 calendar year, remitting $121,658 to the state from $811,053 in AGR. It had accumulated a negative AGR of $8.4 million through the first three months of the year.

BetMGM, which reported no promotional spend for the second straight month, finished third in revenue at $3.6 million thanks to a 10.5% win rate. It was the fifth time in the last nine months it posted a double-digit hold.

ESPN BET was not the only mobile operator who paid taxes due to the loss carryover limitation. Fanatics Sportsbook had a tax bill of $63,721 after its AGR reached minus-$2.5 million in the first quarter of 2024. Fanatics did post a 9% hold in March in reaping $1.3 million in gross winnings from $14.6 million in bets placed.

Maryland Lottery and Gaming does not break out revenue by specific operator for category, but the $37.2 million in revenue from parlays and same game parlays as well as the 22.8% hold derived from $162.6 million in wagers placed implies FanDuel dominated the scene. It is the second-highest win rate reported by the agency since it began providing such figures last June, trailing only the 24.6% hold in July 2023.

Pro basketball was the largest non-parlay source of revenue as operators reaped $6.9 million in revenue from $122.5 million in handle, good for a 5.6% hold. Despite a 3.6% win rate on $82 million worth of baseball bets, the near-$3 million in winnings ranked second.

Tennis ranked third for revenue at $2.2 million, with a 6.8% hold on $32 million in accepted wagers. Hockey was the fourth and final sport where the house reached $1 million in revenue, topping that benchmark by $129,100 thanks to an 8.1% win rate on $13.9 million in handle.

Maryland bettors appeared to have plenty of winning NCAA Tournament tickets on UConn and South Carolina as they came out $819,900 ahead on $8.3 million worth of bets. The public were also winners in April for soccer, taking home $150,400 on top of the $17.4 million in bets placed.