Massachusetts sportsbooks kept revenue high in May despite a lighter local sports calendar and a year over year drop in betting volume.
Good to know
Massachusetts did not need a record betting month to collect a solid tax return. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported $70.6 million in adjusted sports wagering revenue for May, which produced $14.1 million for the state.
That pushed year to date sports betting tax revenue to nearly $75 million.
The headline number still looked healthy because operators kept 11.4% of all wagers. That hold came below the 12.6% win rate from May 2025, but it still gave Massachusetts sportsbooks a fourth month above 10% in 2026.
Handle told a different story. Bettors placed $632.1 million in wagers, down 3.6% from last May. A lower handle usually points to softer activity, but a double digit hold kept Massachusetts sports betting revenue well above a quiet result.
Online betting did nearly all the work. Mobile sportsbooks took $625 million in wagers and won $71.6 million in gross revenue. Retail books handled only $7.1 million and held 7.5%.
DraftKings stayed far ahead in Massachusetts with $306.5 million in online handle and $35.1 million in gross revenue. The operator handle fell by $25 million from May 2025, but it still controlled almost half of the full online market.
FanDuel had the sharper revenue rate. It took $158.7 million in wagers and won $20.7 million, good for a 13.1% hold. Among the larger online brands, no one else matched that percentage.
Fanatics Sportsbook gave the market its clearest growth story. Handle climbed from $46.3 million last May to $70.5 million, while revenue rose 27% to $7.5 million. Its 10.6% hold kept it firmly in double digit territory.
BetMGM also reached double digits, with $4.7 million in revenue from a $46.5 million handle. Caesars won $1.7 million from $21.3 million in bets for an 8.1% hold. theScore Bet also made $1.7 million, but from a smaller $17.5 million handle.
Bally Bet sat at the bottom on hold, keeping only 3.5% from more than $4 million in wagers.
Boston Teams Left Fewer Betting Spots
The softer handle had a clear local sports reason. The Boston Celtics played only one playoff game in May before exiting in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers. One year earlier, their run to the Eastern Conference finals helped produce the biggest May handle since legal Massachusetts sports betting launched in 2023.
The Boston Bruins also left the NHL playoffs in the first round. With both local playoff teams out early, Massachusetts bettors had fewer hometown postseason markets to drive volume.
The Boston Red Sox filled part of the gap, but not with a strong month. They went 13-14 in May and struggled at home with a 4-11 record.
For operators, that mix created a useful result anyway. Massachusetts betting activity came in below last May, but sportsbook margins stayed high enough to keep revenue, taxes and online operator performance strong.