Each Wednesday and Sunday, Digital Wager Wire highlights the most important events impacting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industry landscape.
Massachusetts Sets Sports Betting Record in September
Massachusetts sports bettors turned out in droves to welcome back NFL and college football, translating into the highest-grossing month in the state’s mobile sports betting history. A record $678.7 million was wagered, which outpaced December 2023’s previous high of $658.7 million. Retail sales accounted for just $11.1 million in bets, which was not even 2% of the total handle.
A record $73.5 million in revenues in September was generated as well due to the dizzying handle coupled with a healthy hold (win rate) of 10.8%. This topped the $71.1 million in January, with mobile sports betting profits of $72.2 million dwarfing the relatively paltry $1.3 million delivered by the state’s three retail sportsbooks.
With a record handle, a robust hold, and record revenues came another record, which was the state’s share of the profits. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts took in $14.6 million to fill its tax coffers, which bested the previous high of $14.2 million in January. Massachusetts tax sports betting receipts now total nearly $188 million since the retail market launched in January 2023, before the mobile market launched two months later in March 2023.
DraftKings Online Casino Jackpot Soars to Record Levels
DraftKings iGaming customers in Michigan have a chance to win north of $6.5 million for only 20 cents per spin, round, or hand depending on which of the 26 jackpot-eligible games are being played. Users who wish to avoid the 20-cent surcharge can opt-out but will not qualify for the jackpot.
“A jackpot in Michigan just surpassed $6.46 million, making it the LARGEST in online casino history!” DraftKings said, posting on X on Friday.
Once the DraftKings jackpot is hit, it will be the biggest online grand prize in history, besting BetMGM’s $6.45 million jackpot that was struck on August 19th on its Fruit Blaster virtual machine.
DraftKings released the following statement:
“We take a lot of pride in providing our customers with a best-in-class experience, so it’s always exciting to see our jackpots reach historic numbers knowing one of our DraftKings Casino players is going to take home the largest U.S. jackpot in online casino history,” said Jason March, vice president of iGaming marketing and operations at DraftKings.
“Our current $6.46 million jackpot is monumental not only for DraftKings but for us in Michigan, and we look forward to celebrating the winner of this record-setting jackpot.”
The following are some of the more recent jackpots that have been won by DraftKings iGaming customers.
- Pennsylvania player who won a $2,632,608 Progressive PA Jackpot on 12/23/2023 playing Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen.
- Michigan player who won a $2,226,196 Progressive MI Jackpot on 10/04/2023 playing El Dorado, The Lost City.
- New Jersey player who won a $1,837,896 Progressive NJ Jackpot on 10/05/2023 playing Divine Fortune Megaways.
- Connecticut player who won a $2,741,915 Progressive CT Jackpot on 6/17/2024 playing Cash Eruption.
