Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported on Thursday a state-record sports wagering handle of $559.9 million for December as operators in the Old Line State got back on track thanks to a strong hold on parlay betting.
It was the second straight month Maryland sports betting operators posted a new record for handle, with December’s total a 1.7% increase from the $550.7 million worth of accepted bets in November. It was also 12.6% higher than the previous December, which was the first full month with mobile apps available in the state. The dozen mobile betting apps accounted for $542.7 million of the $559.9 million in wagers.
Operators statewide combined for a hold of 11.1%, 3.5 percentage points above the 7.6% from November that remains the lowest in the 14 months of mobile betting.
The house kept $62.3 million in gross revenue, which is a distant second to the $85.2 million collected in December 2022. Heavy spend on promotions and bonuses contributed to that record revenue haul, as the $19.8 million in promotional credits in the final month of 2023 was just 28% of the $71 million offered via digital operators to drum up interest at the launch.