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Iowa sports betting revenue up thanks to improved hold
Parlays rule the roost in Maryland
Maine reports second-highest sports betting handle in July
Lowest handle of the year in Tennessee
Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission figures show monthly handle topped $138.1m (£108.1m/€126.4m) in July, 25.9% up year-on-year but 5.9% behind June 2024. Online betting accounted for $130.6m of all bets with retail at $7.5m.
An improved hold of 10.1% meant revenue grew strongly, up 31.1% from July 2023 at $13.9m. This also marked an 11.2% improvement on June 2024’s $12.5m revenue, when hold averaged 8.5%.
Looking at revenue by operator, DraftKings remained the market leader in July with $53m wagered and $4.8m in revenue, a 9% hold. FanDuel, on the other hand, saw stakes decline to $31.7m, though a strong 12.6% hold reduced the revenue decline to 6.5% month-over-month.
While handle declined across many Iowa sports betting licensees, Caesars remained in third with $14.8m wagered. A 9.3% hold – up markedly from June’s 5.9% – meant revenue grew month-over-month to $1.4m.
The biggest riser in the month was Fanatics, which reported a 19.4% month-over-month increase in handle to $4.1m. It generated $317,925 in revenue for July.
From Iowa’s 6.75% tax on sportsbook net receipts, legal sports betting generated $936,488.81 in tax revenue during the month.
Higher hold helps Maryland operators grow revenue in July
Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported similar figures, with taxable win rising month-on-month despite lower player spending in the summer lull.
Total handle in Maryland was $333.3m, down 13.4% from June but up 34.7% from July last year. Of this total, some $324.9m was bet online and $8.4m at retail sportsbooks across Maryland.
Parlays continue to dominate, making up $109.3m of all stakes for July and were the most profitable bet type for operators with a 23.8% hold.
Pro baseball was once again the most popular sport to wager on with the MLB regular season underway, making up $85.1m in bets in July. Pro basketball bets hit $40.9m and tennis $37.6m, while there was little love for soccer with $22.5m wagered. The USA men’s team was eliminated from the Copa America on 2 July.
Players won $289.5m from betting on sports, leaving an operator hold of 13.1%, up from 11.4% last year and an improvement on June’s 10.3%.
After taking off $1.0m of promotional play, taxable win was $41.7m, up 88.7% from last year and also 9.2% more than June 2024 due to the increased hold. Online taxable win topped $40.7m and retail $1.0m.
Total tax payments in July hit $6.3m, of which $6.1m came from online operators.
New operators launch Maryland sports betting
The market has expanded in this time; in July 2023 there were 11 licensed mobile sportsbooks, and this year 14 were active during the month.
Among the new entrants is Bally’s, which launched on the final day of July. Customers still wagered $59,534 through Bally Bet, resulting in a one-day revenue total of $1,090.
Veteran’s Service Corporation, which went live on 1 July, generated $130,937 in handle during the month, for revenue of $15,402. Betr, which secured a Maryland sports betting licence in June, is preparing its own launch.
In tandem, Betfred US is exiting the market. The British operator shuttered its retail sportsbook in June, followed by its online platform in July. In its final days active in the state, players wagered $89,847, but after deductions it made no revenue in the month.
Maine sports betting bucks seasonality with second-highest handle since launch
Turning to Maine, handle in July hit $42.8m in, according to data from the Maine Gambling Control Unit. This represents an 8.2% from the previous month and the second largest handle recorded since the Maine sports betting launched in November 2023.
The Gambling Control Unit only publishes headline figures so it is not clear what sports drove the betting activity. However, it led to a significantly improved hold of 14.1%, which meant adjusted gross revenue increased 76.1% month-over-month to $6m.
DraftKings, in partnership with the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and Caesars, working with the Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmac Tribes, are the only two licensed mobile operators in the state.
However DraftKings has a significant lead in Maine. Its $36.9m handle made up the vast majority of wagers in the state, up 11.1% from June. A 14.5% hold meant revenue shot up 77.6% to $5.3m. From the state’s 10% tax on AGR, it paid $533,478.44 to the state.
Caesars lags behind with $5.9m in handle, a 6.9% drop from the prior month. A strong hold of 11.8% meant revenue grew significantly month-on-month, however, rising 65.5% to $698,059.17. This meant it paid $69,805.92 in taxes for July.
Handle drops to year-low in Tennessee
Concluding the round-up in Tennessee, gross wagers in July reached $273.9m, down 20.6% month-on-month. This is also the lowest monthly total so far this calendar year, according to figures from the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council.
Gross wagers in Tennessee were, however, 27.1% higher on a year-on-year basis.
After $2.4m worth of adjustments, this left a gross handle of $271.5m, some 20.7% behind June’s total.
Tax-wise, the state took $5.0m from its 1.85% privilege tax. Tennessee is the only US state to tax licensees on handle rather than gross revenue.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sports-betting/july-sports-betting-iowa-maine-maryland-tennessee/
