Following the release of all-time monthly highs for handle and gross revenue for December by the state’s gaming commission, Massachusetts concluded its first year of sports gambling in historic fashion. Wagers totaling $658.7 million were received by sportsbooks in the Bay State in December, up $4.3 million from the previous number of $654.4 million set in November. Massachusetts took in almost $5 billion in total handle for 2023.

With $62.2 million in gross revenue, operators achieved monthly record totals for December, up $88,666 from May’s previous high. The three physical locations and eight digital apps brought in close to $483.7 million for the month of December. The hold for December came in at 9.4%, which is little less than the 9.7% annual average. With the ability to tax $60.6 million in adjusted gross revenue, the state was able to raise more than $12 million for its coffers.

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While Massachusetts is DraftKings’ sweet spot, ESPN BET cemented its third-place position in its first full month of action. The mobile behemoth led the eight mobile operators with a $315.9 million handle in its home state. Handle increased by 27.9% to $50 million, and its market share for mobile handle increased from 6.1 to 7.8%.

Since promotional credits and bonuses cannot be subtracted from gross revenue for taxation purposes, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission does not reveal the exact amount from operators. However, ESPN BET’s handle increase over the course of a month was almost exactly the same as Maryland’s. There were $42.4 million in accepted bets, up 27.3 percent from November, and $5.8 million in promotional expenditures, a 55 percent decrease from November.

The sportsbook operated by PENN Entertainment generated $4.2 million in income with a strong hold of 8.4%, although it was down 27.6% from November when the win rate was slightly below 14.9 percent. In the latter two months of 2023, the $89.1 million handle accounted for 38.6% of the $230.6 million in wagers that were taken, while the $10 million in revenue represented 47.2% of the $21.2 million in profits from PENN’s sportsbooks.

With a 9.7 percent win rate, DraftKings’ massive lead in handle helped it surpass $30 million in revenue for the second time in 2023, reaching $30.7 million. FanDuel lost out on a third month with $20 million in revenue by just over $200,000, but it did have its highest month in terms of handle, coming in at $187.4 million. It generated a 10.7 percent win rate.

While BetMGM’s handle only slightly increased to $39.2 million in December, the difference between them and ESPN BET for third place widened from about $150,000 in November to $10.8 million. BetMGM reported $3.2 million in revenue in December, and it led all mobile bookmakers with a 12 percent 2023 hold.

Betr saw its greatest month of activity since its start in May thanks to co-founder Jake Paul’s first-round knockout of Andre August in the middle of December. The microbetting platform was just $1,103 short of a $500,000 handle.

Out of the $15.5 million handled, the three physical venues in the Bay State together took home $1.3 million. The trio had a narrow band that ranged from 6 percent at Encore Boston Harbor to 7.2 percent at Plainridge Park. After a difficult November, Plainridge Park managed to top the group in earnings with over $552,000, securing a 7.6 percent hold against $7.2 million in bets. MGM Springfield had winnings exceeding $264,000. This was due to its 13.8 percent win rate. With $515,360 in winnings in December, Encore’s 8.1 percent hold and its highest handling of nearly $85.1 million among the three locations was sufficient to raise its 2023 win rate to 6%.

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