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BOSTON (State House News Service) — Less money is being wagered on sports each month in Massachusetts as the now-legal activity's newness expires and the sports calendar has thinned out, but nearly $300 million wagered in July made operators more than $29.4 million in revenue and will yield $5.8 million for the state.
The Gaming Commission said Tuesday that there was $294.9 million wagered on approved events that took place in July, down from $332 million on June events. The monthly handle in Massachusetts has fallen each month since online betting launched in March. The first month saw $568.2 million wagered, followed by $559.26 million in April and $454.9 million in May.
As a result, the state's take is also down. The high mark for sports betting tax revenue was set at $12.12 million in May.
The latest figure as reported by the Gaming Commission is not a reflection of all the bets placed in July, but rather is the "total amount wagered on approved sporting events that occurred in the month of the report." July is known to be one of the slowest months on the sports calendar -- NHL and NBA seasons have ended, college sports have wrapped up, and even baseball takes a break for its All-Star Game.
Almost all of the betting activity (97.7 percent) in July took place on the eight mobile or online platforms last month, the Gaming Commission said. Those companies were taxed on $28.83 million of the $29.54 million they counted in revenue. That generated state revenue of $5.76 million for the month. The sportsbooks at the state's three brick-and-mortar gaming centers took in about $593,200 in revenue from in-person sports wagering, about $576,140 of which was taxable. That spurred another $86,421 in tax revenue for the state last month.
Casino-style gaming continued to be the far more significant source of revenue for the state in July, generating about $99 million in gambling revenue -- $13.85 million from the slots parlor at Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, $23.5 million from MGM Springfield, and $61.28 million from Encore Boston Harbor in Everett. That works out to $27.99 million in state tax revenue for the month.
In total, Massachusetts can count about $33.8 million in tax revenue based on more than $128 million in taxable gambling revenue for July.
By Colin A. Young, State House News Service
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