Massachusetts Casinos Took $101.9m in August as Sportsbooks Held 8.3% on $570m

Encore Boston Harbor produced $62.8 million of the three casinos' revenue, up from $95.7 million in July across the state, and the seven mobile books plus three retail counters generated just over $47 million of taxable sports revenue. DraftKings settled $275.1 million of it, nearly twice FanDuel, in the last full month before the NFL.

• Massachusetts's three casinos generated about $101.9 million in gross gaming revenue in August, up from $95.7 million in July, according to Massachusetts Gaming Commission figures reported by CDC Gaming: Encore Boston Harbor $62.8 million, MGM Springfield $23.8 million and Plainridge Park $15.1 million
• The seven mobile operators and three retail sportsbooks produced just over $47 million of taxable sports wagering revenue on about $570 million of wagers settled, a hold of roughly 8.3%
• DraftKings settled $275.1 million with $22.8 million of taxable revenue and $4.5 million of tax; FanDuel $144.4 million, $12.8 million and $2.8 million; Fanatics $62.2 million; BetMGM $48.8 million; Caesars $18.2 million; theScore Bet $14.2 million; Bally Bet $2.8 million
• Category 1 casinos pay 25% of GGR and Plainridge Park, the Category 2 slots parlour, 49%; mobile sportsbooks pay 20% and retail 15%; the state has collected $2.5 billion from the casinos since opening and about $500.3 million from sports betting since January 2023
• Operators with negative adjusted revenue in a month may carry the amount into later returns, the commission notes

A Quiet Month on the Floor and a Two-Operator Sports Market

Massachusetts's casinos crossed $100 million in August for a month that is usually among the year's softer ones, and the state's sports betting market settled well over half a billion dollars of wagers before the NFL season began. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission's figures, reported by CDC Gaming on Monday, put combined gross gaming revenue at about $101.9 million, up from $95.7 million in July. Encore Boston Harbor accounted for $62.8 million of slot and table revenue, MGM Springfield $23.8 million and Plainridge Park, the state's slots-only Category 2 facility, $15.1 million.

The tax take follows the licence class. Plainridge Park is taxed at 49% of gross gaming revenue and the two Category 1 resorts at 25%, and since the properties opened the state has collected $2.5 billion in taxes and assessments from the three of them. Encore, which saw 1,300 workers walk out on 4 September, reported its August figures before the strike.

Sports betting generated just over $47 million of taxable revenue across seven mobile operators and the three retail counters. Adding the operators' settled wagers gives about $570 million for the month, a hold of roughly 8.3%. DraftKings, the Boston company that is the state's largest operator, settled $275.1 million with $22.8 million of taxable revenue and $4.5 million of tax paid; FanDuel settled $144.4 million for $12.8 million of revenue and $2.8 million of tax. Fanatics followed at $62.2 million settled and $4.3 million of revenue, BetMGM $48.8 million and $3.9 million, Caesars $18.2 million and $1.4 million, theScore Bet $14.2 million and $1.2 million, and Bally Bet $2.8 million and $328,699. The three retail books settled about $4.7 million between them; MGM Springfield's counter reported no taxable revenue for the month.

Mobile operators pay 20% of sports wagering revenue and retail books 15%. Massachusetts has collected about $500.3 million from sports betting since retail wagering began on 31 January 2023 and online on 10 March 2023. Where an operator's adjusted receipts are negative in a month, because winnings paid and federal excise tax exceed gross receipts, state law lets it carry the negative amount into later returns.

DraftKings and FanDuel Are 74% of the Handle, and the Gap Between Them Is Widening in DraftKings' Home State

Two operators settled $419.5 million of about $570 million, and DraftKings' share of that pair is now almost two to one. That is the market structure every US state has settled into, with the order reversed from the national picture in the one state where DraftKings is the home team. The tail is long and thin: Fanatics, BetMGM and Caesars together are less than half of FanDuel, and Bally Bet's $2.8 million is a rounding error on a $4.5 million tax bill paid by the leader. For a legislature that licensed seven mobile books to create competition, August is a reminder that the licences created choice and not share.

An 8.3% Hold in the Off-Season Is the Number the NFL Weeks Will Be Measured Against

August is baseball and pre-season, and the hold was healthy. September brings the NFL weekends that produced a 2.85% hold in New York on record handle, and Massachusetts's 20% rate on revenue rather than handle means the state's receipts will swing with the results as much as the volume. The carry-forward provision for negative months exists for exactly that: a bettor-friendly Sunday slate can put an operator's adjusted revenue below zero, and the state has agreed in advance to wait for it.

The Casinos Are Steady and the Tax Structure Is Doing the Work

A $101.9 million month with Encore at $62.8 million is in line with the property's run-rate and says nothing about the strike, which began after the reporting period. The more durable point is the rate card: a 49% tax on Plainridge Park's slots and 25% on the resorts have delivered $2.5 billion since opening, against $500 million from three and a half years of sports betting at 20%. Massachusetts taxed its casinos hard and its sportsbooks harder than most, and the casinos still pay five times as much. The legislature contemplating online casino, which Connecticut and Rhode Island already have, has that ratio in front of it.

Massachusetts's numbers for August are unremarkable, which in a market this mature is the point. The remarkable ones will arrive with the football season, and with whatever the Encore strike does to September.