When mobile betting became available in the state for the first time at the start of the football season, the betting public jumped at the chance to take advantage of promotional offers. In September, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported $45.6 million in gross operator revenue for sports wagering. The 12 mobile carriers in the region spent close to $24 million on credits in September, which is the highest amount since $71 million was spent in December of last year, the second month that mobile betting was offered in state. All but $1.4 million of that total was generated by four operators: DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Fanatics Sportsbook, with DraftKings taking the lead with more than $8.8 million.

In September of last year, wagers (retail alone) totaled $31.4 million, which was more than 13 times higher than the handle from that month, which increased monstrously from August by 67.8% to $442.5 million. With this year’s activity, Maryland will become the 10th state to handle more than $3 billion in 2023 and the 14th state to clear $4 billion in accepted wagers in the post-PASPA era.

Maryland was able to take in $21.5 million in adjusted gross revenue after taking into account additional deductions totaling more than $960,000. Since February, the AGR had not been less than 50% of gross revenue; as a result, the percentage of taxable operator revenue for the 2023 calendar year fell to 58.2% of $351.4 million. Nevertheless, the state received $3.2 million in tax revenue, pushing the yearly total above $30 million. With the 10.3% hold, wagering reached double digits for the 19th time in 22 months, including 10 times in the 11 months mobile betting has been accessible.

From the perspective of mobile operators, September was notable since everyone was actively recruiting bettors. With the exception of betPARX, all but nine of the 12 books had promotional expenditures totaling at least $100,000 or at least 35 percent of their gross sales. But when it came to income and handle, the typical suspects were at the top of the list. FanDuel won both competitions and continued to have a pristine double-digit hold percentage in Maryland. The mobile behemoth generated $19.9 million in gross income on bets totaling $175 million, but its win percentage of 11.4 percent was the lowest in its previous 11 months of operation.

In addition, DraftKings managed a double-digit hold, finishing at 10.1 percent as it took $15.5 million from the $154.1 million in handling. Due to a hold that was 2.4 percentage points greater than in August, its revenue more than doubled.

In 11 months, BetMGM has created 10 double-digit holds. With just under $4 million won from over $37 million risked, the company posted a 10.9 percent win rate. The other mobile bookies that were able to generate more than $1 million in gross revenue for September were Fanatics and Caesars Sportsbook.

Fanatics managed $1.4 million in gross sales and its first eight-figure handle at just under $12 million, but due to its $2.4 million promotional credit expenditure, it ended up with a negative AGR of just over $1 million. The overall gross income rises to $2 million from $16.1 million wagered when wagering by PointsBet, which Fanatics acquired in July, is included.

Due to a tiny 5.5 percent hold on $18.8 million in handling, Caesars Sportsbook just missed breaking into seven figures for revenue by around $40,000. Its $510,000 promotional expenditure was the most since surpassing $800,000 in January.

PENN Entertainment saw handle nearly double from August to $10.2 million, achieving eight figures for the first time since March. PENN Entertainment is in the process of rebranding their mobile book to ESPN BET. The former Barstool book had a 6.7 percent hold and generated gross sales of $680,000.

Just four months ago, Maryland Lottery and Gaming started publishing revenue and handling by sport. The data from September demonstrated that the arrival of football and the availability of mobile betting had combined to lift all sportsbooks. Football wagering as a whole brought in $133.1 million, with college football bringing in $57.2 million and NFL wagering coming in at little under $76 million.