Massachusetts releases casino and sports results for April 2023

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has released the latest numbers covering the sports and casino wagering revenue for April 2023. The state regulator reported the results from the three casinos at Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino, with the three properties collecting $101m in gross gaming revenue.

The Bay State’s watchdog also collected an estimated $58.91m in taxable sports wagering revenue, a metric it refers to as TSWR. Massachusetts’s casinos are taxed differently, depending on their status as per state rules. For example, Plainridge Park Casino is a category 2 slots facility, which means it pays 49% of its gross gaming revenue, with the tax proceeds split between the LocalAid and Racehorse DevelopmentFund from 82% to 18%.

Then, there is MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor which are category 1 resort casinos and they pay 25% of their gross gaming revenue. The proceeds from these payments are then divvied up at the discretion of the regulator. Put together, the state has collected more than $1.4bn in total tax proceeds from the three casinos since they opened.

The biggest contributor to the state’s coffers was once again Encore Boston Harbor which paid almost $16m in tax. The venue reported $27.8m from table games and $36.15m from slots in gross gaming revenue, for a total of $63.9m, the highest of all three properties. MGM Springfield reported $23.7m in gross gaming revenue and Plainridge Park Casino added $13.4m.

Sports betting was another interesting metric to note this month. The commission split the reporting into two, with the total amount placed on sports betting in April reaching $579.2m. The taxable gaming revenue thereof was estimated to be $58.9m, which led to an $11.78m contribution in state tax.

The bulk of this betting amount was placed through online licenses, $566.2m of the total handle compared to just $13m through retail venues. Again, retail venues only contributed $89,546 in taxable income whereas the proceeds from taxing online betting amounted to $11.79m.

The state has six licensed online sportsbooks, including Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, CaesarsSportsbook, DraftKings, WynnBet, and FanDuel. The biggest amount of wagers was placed with DraftKings, a breakdown of the monthly results indicated, some $283.83m. Another $172.6m went down with FanDuel.

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