Massachusetts might do better than last year, and DraftKings stays on top.

Massachusetts might do better than last year, and DraftKings stays on top.

 While Massachusetts was able to report a year-over-year rise in handle, player spending on sports betting fell for the second month in a row in May.
 January sports betting in Massachusetts
 In total, $587.3m (£462.7m/€547.6m) was bet during the month, which is 32.4% more than May of last year but 2.7% less than the $603.3m bet in Massachusetts in April of this year.

 98% of all bets made were done online at the six sites that were open in the state.

 The money made from this was $57.0 million in taxed betting income for May.  The monthly sum is $4m less than the $59.4m it was last year.  It is, however, 16.1% more than the $49.1m reported in April of this year.

 In May, $56.9 million in all taxed income came from online betting.  On the other hand, only $105,629 came from store betting.

 All managers made 10% more money than they did the previous month in May.

 In a note about the month's numbers, Deutsche Bank analysts said that May 2024 had nine weekends, compared to eight in May 2023. This made the calendar better for betting and games.

 DraftKings is still the best in Massachusetts.
 DraftKings stayed on top as the best online sportsbook in the state in May, with $28.3 million in sales and $299.5 million in bets.

 FanDuel, which is owned by Flutter Entertainment, came in second again with $19.9 million in sales from a $172.4 million deal.  BetMGM came in second with $3.0m from $39.3m in bets.

 ESPN Bet made $2.5 million from a $25.9 million deal.  Fans won $1.7 million from $19.8 million in bets.  In the online market, Caesars came in last with $1.5m, down from $20.1m.

 When it came to shopping, Encore Boston Harbour was the leader with $540,882 in sales from $5.5 million in bets.  Plainridge Park Casino also made $133,573 from a $3.6 million deal.

 But MGM Springfield said it lost $568,834 on bets worth a total of $1.1 million in May.

 In May, casinos made more than $98 million.
 In May, land-based casinos made $98 million.  The amount is 2.6% less than last year's $100.6 million, but a little more than April's $97.5 million.

 During the month, slots brought in $68.7 million, while table games brought in $29.3 million.

 With a total of $61.2 million, Encore Boston Harbour came in first.  MGM Springfield came in second with $22.4m, and Plainridge Park Casino came in third with $14.4m.

 MA's betting taxes will stay the same
 In May, sports betting brought in $11.5 million in taxes and land-based casinos brought in $28 million.

 Massachusetts lawmakers turned down a plan on May 23 to raise the tax rate from 20% to 51%.

 Sen. John Keenan came up with the idea in the Bay State, and it would have been part of the state budget.  During the debate, Keenan talked about gambling addiction and the idea that casinos should pay for people who become addicted to get help.

 But Massachusetts already has some of the strictest rules on responsible gaming in the country, as well as the best-funded program in the US for helping people who have problems with gambling.