Maryland online sports betting revenue up 5.6% in April
Maryland sports betting revenues were up 5.6% year-over-year in April. Online books won US$62.1 million off of handle of US$566.1 million.
The handle figure represented a jump of 12.9%. The books held at 11%.
The highest hold – 12.9% – and highest gross belonged to FanDuel. It won US$29 million on handle of US$224.2 million.
DraftKings held at 9.9% and won US$16.9 million. Its handle was US$171.6 million.
Caesars Sportsbook was the loosest of the books, holding at 9%. It won US$1.9 million off US$21.3 million in handle.
Fanatics Sportsbook edged BetMGM for third place in revenue, US$4.5 million to US$4.2 million. Fanatics’ handle share was US$48.1 million and it held at 9.3%. BetMGM had handle share of US$45 million but held at 9.4%.
Penn Entertainment’s theScore Bet grossed US$1.1 million from handle of US$9.7 million. It held at 11.7%. All other books combined for US$4.6 million in revenue from handle of US$46.2 million.
David McKee is an award-winning journalist who has three decades of experience covering the gaming industry.
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The Backstory
Why April’s uptick matters
Maryland’s April gain — a 5.6% year-over-year increase in online sports betting revenue on an 12.9% jump in handle — builds on a spring run that has tightened competition and raised policy stakes. The advance follows a strong March, when operators posted a 30.5% revenue surge on a 10.4% hold, according to state figures compiled in March. The arc from March into April shows bettors continuing to wager at elevated levels through the heart of the sports calendar, while leaders extract more per dollar bet. That mix helps explain why Maryland’s market is simultaneously drawing legislative scrutiny, legal boundary testing and public health attention.
The April splits also highlight a maturing market dynamic: premium brands levered higher holds, while mid-tier books jockeyed for share rather than price. That has implications for tax receipts, operator margin strategies and how lawmakers read the industry’s capacity to shoulder higher levies without throttling growth.
FanDuel’s edge, DraftKings’ chase
The same brands steered the narrative across March and April. FanDuel led both months in handle and win, tightening its grip through superior hold. In March, it posted a 12.1% hold on US$233.6 million in wagers, winning US$28.4 million, per the March breakdown. April extended that outperformance: FanDuel generated US$29 million on US$224.2 million with a market-best 12.9% hold. DraftKings trailed in both months, holding 9.4% in March and 9.9% in April, with wins of US$17.3 million and US$16.9 million respectively on slightly lower handle. The spread underscores a strategic divergence — FanDuel’s pricing and risk management continue to deliver outsized conversion from handle to revenue relative to peers.
Second-tier rivals traded places at the margins. BetMGM and Fanatics clustered in third and fourth in both months, with hold in a tight band near 9% to 9.6%. Caesars remained a lighter hold operator near 9% in April after 9.4% in March, limiting revenue despite steady action. TheScore Bet’s consistent double-digit hold suggests a niche strategy can sustain margin if scale stays manageable. Those operating choices set the backdrop for any shift in Maryland’s tax calculus, where even modest basis-point changes in hold can swing monthly liabilities when multiplied by hundreds of millions in handle.
Tax proposals test resilience
That calculus is not theoretical. Gov. Wes Moore has proposed doubling Maryland’s online sports betting tax rate to 30% and lifting the table games rate to 25%. Analysts warned the move would ripple through digital gaming balance sheets if enacted. As Deutsche Bank and Truist detailed, the plan could shave US$58 million from Flutter’s cash flow and US$30 million from DraftKings on a 2025 basis, with smaller but material impacts for BetMGM, Caesars and Penn’s ESPN Bet. The proposal is early in the legislative process and may be revised, but it reflects a broader trend: states eye gaming as a plug for budget gaps while avoiding politically fraught expansions like full-scale iGaming.
For Maryland, revenue growth in March and April hands lawmakers a data point that major operators can still widen margin despite promotional rationalization and maturing customer bases. The downside risk is competitive retreat — smaller books trimming spend or reducing market presence if the after-tax return compresses. Larger players, flagged by analysts as better insulated, could consolidate share. Consumers may see thinner promos and tighter pricing as operators seek to defend contribution margins.
Regulatory lines harden
Parallel to tax pressure, regulators are policing the market’s edges. A federal judge recently denied Kalshi’s bid to block Maryland enforcement, holding that Commodity Futures Trading Commission approval did not supersede the state’s gambling regime. The case, now on appeal, centers on whether event contracts tied to sports outcomes can operate in Maryland without a gaming license. The ruling, as reported in the federal district court decision, reinforces that Maryland’s lottery and gaming authorities set the gatekeeping rules for sports wagering. For licensed books, that clarity reduces the risk of gray-market competition encroaching on share. For policymakers, it underscores the state’s leverage as it weighs higher tax rates or other consumer protections amid a dominant online sector.
The compliance message is consistent: licensed or out. Enforcement action in Maryland aligns with scrutiny seen in other states, sharpening the costs of operating outside established frameworks. That posture could matter more if higher taxes prompt operators to reconsider market-by-market commitments, because the value of a clean, exclusive field rises as margins thin.
Public health concerns build
While revenue rises, Maryland is grappling with social costs. Disordered gambling indicators climbed 42% since sports betting’s statewide launch in November 2022, with nearly two in five bettors showing signs of risky behavior, according to data cited in a recent review of problem gambling trends. Counselors report sharper, faster escalation among young men and a spike in helpline calls. The state will add gambling awareness to school health curricula this fall, and regulators warned residents to stick with licensed sportsbooks ahead of the NFL season.
Those findings feed the policy debate. Higher taxes are often framed as a way to fund guardrails, but they can also narrow promotions and nudge bettors toward offshore markets if not balanced with consumer protections and education. For operators, sustained growth depends on maintaining a regulated ecosystem where at-risk users are identified and aided, and where product design and marketing temper inducements that drive short-term handle but raise longer-term backlash.
Regional signals and what’s next
The dynamics are not unique to Maryland. Neighboring markets show how share battles and policy posture shape outcomes. Massachusetts posted US$65.4 million in April sports betting revenue, up 32.4% year over year, with DraftKings pulling far ahead of FanDuel that month, per the state’s April report. That flip in leadership underscores that operator advantages are market specific — and that tax, product mix and local brand equity can swing results. For Maryland, where FanDuel’s hold edge has been persistent, a steeper tax could compress spreads but may not change the pecking order unless it drives material cutbacks in pricing or promotions.
Heading into summer, the state faces a balancing act. April’s uptick confirms a resilient customer base and disciplined risk management by leaders. Lawmakers are testing how much fiscal lift they can extract without undermining a regulated market’s health. Regulators are clarifying boundaries as novel products push in. Public health officials are responding to signs of harm. The next leg of Maryland’s sports betting story will be written at the intersection of those forces — where hold percentages and handle meet tax rates, compliance and trust.
