Maryland Sees Record $550.72 Million November Handle As ESPN BET Passes Caesars
The Maryland sports betting industry just brought in an all-time high handle of $550.72 million. This big handle comes at the one-year anniversary of the state launching sports betting.
One of the most interesting takeaways from the handle data is that ESPN BET had surpassed other sports betting operators like Caesars and BetRivers.
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November Brings In $550.72 Million In Sports Betting Handle
Maryland sports betting has officially hit an all-time high, with $550.72 million wagered throughout the month. Online sports betting accounted for $533.2 million of the handle, or 96.8% total.
This is now the all-time leading handle in Maryland sports betting history, passing December 2022’s $497.1 million total. The handle was also an improvement over October, which generated $483.15 million in wagers. This represents a 13.99% improvement from month to month. Considering last December brought in the previous record handle in the state and the Baltimore Ravens are poised to battle for the top seed in the AFC, December 2023 could already see a new record handle.
The Maryland sports betting industry’s 12 online betting apps and 13 retail sportsbooks also brought in $3.2 million in taxes throughout November. This is significantly lower than the $5.8 million in taxes from October, representing a 44.95% decrease.
This is also the lowest tax total since August of 2023, when there were no NFL regular season games to wager on.
What do you say we keep these good vibes goin’? 😈 pic.twitter.com/0kUBM8T8nh
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 12, 2023
First Year Of Online Betting Pushes Maryland Handle Past $5 Billion
The Maryland sports betting industry originally got rolling as retail sportsbooks began opening on December 9, 2021, bringing in-person sportsbooks to casinos like MGM National Harbor and Live! Casino & Hotel. This resulted in millions of dollars wagered, although the major numbers would really start coming in when mobile sportsbooks got the green light on November 29, 2022.
The numbers immediately began ballooning, with December (the first full month with online betting) bringing in $440 thousand in taxes, $85.1 million in revenue, and $497.1 million in handle. Now that online sports betting has been available in the Old Line State for over a year, the state has seen a lifetime sports betting handle of $5 billion, $604.4 million in revenue, and $46.2 million in taxes.
The Pacers vs. Bucks game tonight now possesses the highest total since 1991.
Are you riding with the over or under? ↕️ pic.twitter.com/pYBuMZMsxi
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBet) December 13, 2023
ESPN BET Passes Caesars Sportsbook In Total Maryland Handle
On November 14, 2023, ESPN BET officially replaced Barstool Sportsbook in 17 states across the U.S., including Maryland. The online betting site from the sports media giant immediately gained fans in the state, leading to a $33.3 million handle throughout November.
This ranked fourth in the Maryland throughout the month behind FanDuel ($241.6 million), DraftKings ($165.8 million), and BetMGM ($35.9 million). Interestingly, ESPN BET has also surpassed Caesars Sportsbook, which collected $25.5 million throughout the month.
This is especially surprising considering that Caesars is consistently in the top four sports betting operators alongside FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM. ESPN BET also collected more than Fanatics Sportsbook ($19 million) and BetRivers Sportsbook ($5.1 million). Crab Sports, the community-focused sports betting app, generated a monthly handle of $761 thousand.
