Massachusetts Casinos, Betting Operators Post Strong December Results

The gambling regulator in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), released its latest report Tuesday, outlining details regarding the performance of licensed sports betting and casino operators for December. Last month marked a strong period for brick-and-mortar casinos and sports betting operators, considering that the total taxable gaming revenue hit $163.6 million. This result marked an uptick when compared to the $143 million result reported a month earlier, in November.

A breakdown released by the MGC reveals that the revenue from retail and online sports wagering in December was $60.6 million. On the other hand, the lion’s share of the revenue was derived from the three casinos in the state, MGM Springfield, Plainridge Park Casino and Encore Boston Harbor, a total of $103 million. While sports betting raised $12 million in taxes, the three land-based casinos were responsible for $29 million in taxes last month.

Land-Based Casinos Raise Tax Revenue

The gambling regulator released a breakdown of the total casino revenue reported last month. According to the recent report, the highest table and slots gross gaming revenue (GGR), was posted by Encore Boston Harbor, some $65.8 million, contributing $16.5 million in taxes.

Second in line was MGM Springfield with the casino posting $23.6 million in total GGR for December. This translated to $5.9 million in taxes for the state.

Slots-only Plainridge Park Casino’s GGR last month was $13.6 million. As a class 2 slots venue, the casino is subject to higher tax which is why its contributions to the state in December were $6.7 million or a result higher than the taxes paid by MGM Springfield with nearly two times its GGR.

DraftKings, FanDuel and ESPN Bet Post the Best Figures in December

Unsurprisingly, when it comes to sports betting, online activities were responsible for the majority of the taxable gaming revenue. Online betting operators posted a total of $59.3 million in revenue for December, contributing $11.9 million in taxes to the state. In contrast, retail betting operators posted only $1.3 million in revenue, raising $194,011 in taxes for Massachusetts last month.

In December, DraftKings proved itself as an unquestionable leader in Massachusetts with its $315.9 million betting handle and $29.9 million in revenue. The betting handle was lower when compared to the $320 million posted in November. However, the revenue last month surpassed the $26.4 million result posted in November.

FanDuel, another leading betting operator, was among the top three companies with the highest betting handle last month. In total, the sportsbook posted $187.4 million in betting handle, a result that was far from DraftKings’ figure. Still, FanDuel’s result last month marked success considering its revenue which was $19.3 million, the best figure for the last six months.

The recently launched ESPN Bet posted the third-highest betting handle in December, a total of $49,981,962. The total revenue the sportsbook reported last month was $4.1 million, a far cry from its $5.7 million result reported in November.