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Maryland has been in the news a lot lately — both nationally and sports-wise. Nationally, there was a fella named Luigi Mangione who did something and was from the area. You can Google it to see what that something was. Elsewhere (and in lighter news), the state’s two favorite NFL teams are perennial contenders.
There’s the local Ravens, of course. Lamar Jackson’s MVP hopes have dimmed after some subpar performances, but no one’s worried in Baltimore yet. Then there’s also the Commanders, who despite playing in Washington DC, are still beloved in Maryland. The Commanders’ Jayden Daniels has drawn comparisons to Jackson for how he plays the QB position.
Both team’s performance HAS to be contributing to the sports betting in Maryland. Interest is up, and the betting numbers back it. The state of Maryland just reported data for November and spoiler alert: a new record has been smashed. Keep reading and we’ll tell you all about it!
A Sports Betting Record Falls In Maryland
Maryland Lottery and Gaming just rolled out sports betting numbers for November. All in all, Maryland bettors wagered $639.9 million on sports. Most of that likely went to football — NFL and NCAAF alike — however, other sports like NBA, UFC, and Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson also contributed to the total. However, that’s not the record-setting number we brought up.
The record was actually in revenue. This is the money that’s kept after winners are paid out. In November, that figure was $76.8 million. However, this is money that’s split between the operators and the state itself. With a pretty modest tax rate of 15 percent, that means Maryland kept $11.8 million to itself. Operators keep the rest (more on them later).
Anyway, back to the profitable month that was November. This revenue figure topped September 2024, which had the record for $9.4 million. So as you can see, the beat was pretty significant at $2.4 million more.
The question is, should we expect an encore in December — the final full month of the NFL regular season? We would think so, especially if the Ravens and Commandeers keep on streaking. This is likely the state’s last time to threaten the just-set record since the playing season winds down in January. Sure, Super Bowl betting and March Madness are big, but nothing beats an entire month of NFL action featuring all 32 teams.
Year Over Year Numbers Continue To Impress
One of our favorite figures to level-set a state’s sports betting success is year-over-year numbers. For those who aren’t finance savvy, this metric just shows how things are trending from the same point last year.
The big one to look at is the fiscal year, which for the state of Maryland, starts in July. From then to November, Maryland has made a little over $40 million in tax money for themselves this fiscal year. This is a huge step up compared to the same point last year when Maryland had only kept $18.1 million for themselves. Heck, Maryland made about 60 percent of that this month alone.
Outside of the state itself, FanDuel is the big winner here. They were responsible for $283.3 million of the betting handle and $6.01 million in tax revenues for November. Compared to their chief rival, DraftKings, FanDuel was ahead by about $83 million more in handle and $2.5 million in tax.
The takeaway here? There are no signs of stagnation in Maryland when it comes to sports wagering. The opposite actually. The practice is only becoming more entrenched in the state, which makes sense since it’s been three years since they went live. With the anniversary around the corner, it’s a good idea to reflect badly on how the industry has done.
Remembering How Maryland Got Here
December 9, 2021 — that’s the date that Maryland sports betting went live. At first, the state’s legal sports betting market was restricted to in-person casinos only. It wouldn’t be until 2022 that mobile app betting became a thing. Now that we’re past the three-year mark, what’s to make of Maryland’s new industry?
No surprise, it’s been an absolutely smashing success. Maryland has collected just under $130 million in tax money, all of which they’ve funneled to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund. That’s an education program for the entire state so we suppose the kids are winning the most here — not bettors whose losses are responsible for those profits.
The other top-line number to note is almost $11 billion. This is how much Maryland bettors have combined to bet for in the three years.
Just imagine if Maryland had launched mobile app betting right away? Both those numbers would be significantly higher as it a frictionless way of wagering as compared to driving to a physical sportsbook and betting there.
All in all, Maryland has overperformed in betting. The trend says that’s going to continue too. Now only if their local NFL teams overperform in the playoffs that would be dynamite for the sportsbooks come January 2025 (and maybe, just maybe February 2025). We’ll just have to take a wait-and-see approach.
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