The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported $67.6 million in gross sports wagering revenue for April on Tuesday as DraftKings continued to boss around bettors in its home state.
Operator winnings surged 33.7% compared to April 2024 as the 9.8% statewide hold was 1.4 percentage points higher. That allowed revenue to outpace the 14.4% bounce in handle to $690.3 million, the sixth-highest total in Bay State history. Massachusetts also became the 13th state to surpass $15 billion in total handle post-PASPA.
The state was able to tax $65.9 million in adjusted gross revenue, re-directing $13.2 million to its state coffers. The $55.5 million in year-to-date receipts is running $11.7 million ahead of last year’s pace as the $278 million in AGR through the first four months of 2024 is up 26.9%.
It’s good to be the King(s)
DraftKings has been able to consistently roughly 50% market share when it comes to mobile betting in Massachusetts. It again hit that benchmark in April as the $343 million worth of accepted bets accounted for 50.4% of all online wagers.
Despite the Boston Red Sox enjoying a 16-11 record in April and the Boston Celtics winning nine of their 12 total games, including four wins in an NBA first-round postseason series win over the Orlando Magic, DraftKings still managed to produce a state-best 11.3% hold for the month, and claim $38.6 million in gross revenue. That was up 57.7% from April 2024 and marked the fifth time in the last eight months revenue topped $35 million.
Bettors fared slightly better versus FanDuel, keeping the juggernaut below a 10% hold for the second straight month — but just barely at 9.9%. Its $18.4 million in winnings was down 8.5% year-over-year despite a 5.4% uptick in handle to $185.9 million.
While the top two spots are fairly settled, Fanatics Sportsbook is trying to make a case to be the No. 3 mobile option in Massachusetts. Fanatics closed the gap to BetMGM in handle thanks to a small month-over-month uptick to $49.3 million, more than double its $22.8 million in bets accepted last year and up from $48.3 million in March.
BetMGM saw a solid year-over-year bump in handle of 36.3% to $55.1 million, but it was also 23.5% off its record action of $72.1 million set in March. BetMGM comfortably kept the final podium spot for revenue, though, attaining a 7.4% win rate to keep $4.1 million compared to Fanatics’ 6.6% hold that resulted in $3.3 million in winnings.
ESPN BET and Caesars were separated by $564,419 in handle as both books eclipsed $21 million, but ESPN BET had an 8.7% hold — more than five percentage points higher than Caesars — to reap $1.9 million in winnings. Caesars totaled $752,305 in revenue with a 3.6% hold — the seventh consecutive month it failed to attain the industry-standard 7%.
Elsewhere around the country
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania sportsbooks largely maintained the status quo from last April with $61.8 million in gross revenue, up 4.6% from 2024 as operators fashioned an 8.7% hold from $711.6 million handle. Promotional spend was up 15.7% from last year to $19.3 million with FanDuel offering $7.3 million in credits and bonuses.
FanDuel easily led all mobile operators with $27.4 million in gross winnings on the strength of a 10.2% hold. DraftKings was a distant second with $17.6 million while crafting a 9.6% win rate. Year-to-date operator revenue in the Keystone State continues to lag versus 2024, due mainly to the Philadelphia Eagles winning Super Bowl LIX in February.
The $229.2 million in gross winnings is down 15.4% compared to the first four months of 2024, while the $128.5 million in taxable revenue is a downturn of 31.7%. That has led to $20.3 million less in receipts for the state at $43.7 million.
Louisiana
Louisiana sportsbooks easily avoided back-to-back, sub-10% monthly holds for the first time in state history in April, notching an 11.8% win rate to claim $40.7 million in gross revenue. That was up 3.6 percentage points from March, when the 8.2% hold was just the second in single digits in the last 17 months.
Despite the lofty hold, revenue was only up 0.7% from last April when sportsbooks routed the public with a 14.3% win rate. Handle was up 21.5% year-over-year to $343.8 million, slightly ahead of the year-to-date increase of 19.6% to $1.5 billion.
Operators came out of the gate fast in baseball: The $3.2 million in revenue was the most for any month since collecting $3.8 million in October 2023. Parlay revenue also reverted back to the house’s favor with $26 million, sending the total for the year over $105 million.
Michigan
Michigan sportsbooks weathered a strong April from the Detroit Tigers in finishing with $43 million in gross revenue, down 1.1% from last year. The Tigers went 18-9 during the month, likely offsetting some of the success the house had against Pistons bettors seeing their team in the NBA postseason — albeit briefly with a first-round exit to the New York Knicks — for the first time since 2019.
Handle ticked 3% higher to $427 million, resulting in a 10.1% hold. Adjusted gross revenue totaled $27.1 million, down 7.7% year-over-year as the state’s cut of receipts totaled $1.4 million.
FanDuel paced mobile books in handle ($154.6 million) and gross revenue ($19.1 million) on the strength of a 12.4% hold. DraftKings edged into eight figures in winnings with $10.5 million, attaining a 9.1% win rate from $114.9 million handle.
Fanatics surpassed $3 million in gross revenue for the third time in six months, totaling $3.3 million with an 11.3% hold. It continues to spend aggressively in the marketplace — Fanatics’ taxable revenue was less than $1.1 million, and it was the second consecutive month the spread between gross revenue and AGR was more than $2.2 million.
