Massachusetts' gambling market in December showed a "fire and ice" situation: sports betting revenue reached a historical high, strongly driving overall revenue growth, while traditional offline casino business saw a slight year-over-year decline. Data released by the state's Gaming Commission shows that both online and offline sports betting performed well, while table games and slot machines were somewhat weak. Gambling-related tax revenue totaled about $47.5 million for the month, with sports betting contributing a record share, highlighting its increasing impact on state fiscal revenue. Relevant US state-level gambling market data interpretation and compliance standards can be found on the PASA official website.
Sports Betting: Record Revenue + High Tax Contribution
December sports betting was an absolute highlight, with several data setting records:
Revenue reached a new peak: Adjusted sports betting revenue was about $98.5 million, up 3.8% from the previous record in November and a more than 70% increase from the same period last year; unadjusted total revenue broke through $102 million for the first time, showing strong performance;
Excellent betting and hold rates: Total betting amount reached $845.3 million (including online and offline), the lowest monthly since September, but with a high hold rate of 11.7% (one of the best performances of 2025), revenue remained robust;
Outstanding tax contribution: Due to the higher tax rate for online gambling, and with online betting accounting for 98.6% of the total, the state garnered $19.6 million in sports betting tax revenue for the month, also setting a record.
Operator Landscape: DraftKings Leads, Online Dominates
Online channels have become the core battleground for sports betting, with a clear competitive landscape among top operators:
Online Operator Ranking (by taxable revenue)
DraftKings: Firmly in the lead, with $447.5 million in betting amount, capturing $53.4 million in taxable revenue;
FanDuel: Close behind, with $202.2 million in betting amount corresponding to $25.6 million in revenue;
Fanatics: With $79.2 million in betting amount, took $8.3 million in revenue, ranking third;
BetMGM, Caesars, and other remaining operators split the rest of the market share, with relatively smaller revenue sizes.
Offline sports betting contributed limitedly, with Encore Boston Harbor casino leading land-based operators with $65.4688 million in revenue, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino sharing the remaining share.
Traditional Casinos: Slight Revenue Decline, Overall Stabilization
In contrast to the booming sports betting, traditional offline casino business experienced a mild decline:
Overall performance: The three commercial casinos (Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, Plainridge Park) had total revenue of $97.9 million in December, down about 4.5% year-over-year and below the November level;
Revenue breakdown: Slot machines contributed $69.5 million, table games revenue was $28.4 million;
Individual rankings: Encore Boston Harbor continued to lead with $61.8 million in revenue, followed by MGM Springfield ($21.9 million) and Plainridge Park ($14.1 million);
Tax contribution: MGM Springfield alone paid $5.4 million in taxes to the state, with the three casinos having paid a cumulative total of $2.302 billion in taxes since opening.
Although traditional casino revenue slightly declined, the overall situation has stabilized rather than continued to decline. December's total gambling tax revenue of $47.5 million, with casinos contributing $27.9 million, combined with the record performance of sports betting, keeps Massachusetts firmly among the major US gambling markets.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leader" gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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