by
It really feels like the good news keeps coming for Maryland sports betting. The numbers for 2023 were incredible, which was no surprise at all. Having said that, lawmakers and officials were hopeful that the 2024 betting season would be able to get off on the right foot. Luckily, that’s exactly what has happened. According to a report, Maryland sports betting set a new record for the state’s revenue for January. This is huge news.
For a single month, posting $8.2 million is a monster number. That’s exactly what happened in January. Not only that, but it has been reported that a total sports betting handle of more than $540 million was posted too. That’s downright electric, which makes it easy to see why the revenue was record-breaking this past month. So, what in the world led to all of the betting action for the state?
Easy, it was the NFL postseason. Last month, the regular season for the National Football League was wrapped up and people were fired up for the playoffs to arrive. In Maryland, people were betting left and right on the Baltimore Ravens, as they were the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Baltimore had a bye during the Wild Card Round and then they beat the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round to meet the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Unfortunately for all of the die-hard fans out there, the Ravens lost to the Chiefs in that game and Kansas City moved on to the Super Bowl. Despite the Ravens not being able to get the job done, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Lamar Jackson and Co. were downright sensational throughout the year. In turn, countless sports bets were recorded and the revenue for January set a new record. All across the board, it was great to see.
The 🐐🐐🐐 had to show love to @Lj_era8. 💜@KingJames | @raylewis | @MichaelPhelps | @obj | @carmeloanthony | @LilTunechi | @LarryFitzgerald pic.twitter.com/Br4CNGDtgO
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 10, 2024
Super Bowl betting was also strong for Maryland
Even though the Ravens didn’t make it to the big game, Super Bowl betting was also strong for Maryland. Keep in mind that once January got here, the number of Super Bowl futures bets only went up in the area. People were checking the Super Bowl betting odds frequently, especially with how great Baltimore looked. In mid-January, and leading up to the Divisional Round, the Ravens had the No. 1 betting odds to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.
The upset loss to the Chiefs was a major bummer, as the Ravens were favored to come away with a win. Just about everyone in Baltimore thought that the Ravens would move on to the Super Bowl to take on the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and the Chiefs went on to play SF for the title. Jackson and head coach John Harbaugh were pretty down in the dumps after the loss.
“A lot of what we were doing was directed at the line of scrimmage by what the defense gave us. And the defense was lined up to take away the run, “Harbaugh said on the loss to KC. “The next thing would be to bring it in tight and run the ball out of heavy formations and wide receivers blocking the edge and protecting the edge that way. We could have done it that way, but we were down. We wanted to keep the formations open and give ourselves the best chance to try to move the ball and score points.”
The Ravens have already turned their focus to next season, with Jackson hoping he can win the title for the first time in his career. Despite not winning the Super Bowl, Jackson won the 2023 NFL MVP, which was great to see. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the game and people cashed in on him winning MVP. Hopefully at this point next year, people in Maryland will also cash in on him winning his first ring.
A lifetime in the making. MVP x 2‼️@Lj_era8
🎶: “Fly In”@LilTunechi | @RepublicRecords pic.twitter.com/h92KVnNRYk
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) February 9, 2024
Orioles betting is about to provide a huge boost
Looking ahead to the coming months, there’s no doubt in our minds that Orioles betting is about to provide a huge boost for officials to enjoy. Last season, Baltimore stunned so many people by winning the AL East. It was assumed that either the Yankees, Rays or Red Sox would win the division, but the Orioles did the unthinkable.
Despite the team not going on a deep postseason run, that doesn’t take away from the fact that fans are super excited to see what they’ll be able to do in this campaign. Baltimore doesn’t have the best World Series betting odds, but the fact that they’re the reigning AL East champions has people optimistic about what they’ll be able to get done this season and beyond.
The Yankees are riding high after landing Juan Soto in a trade from the Padres, but the Orioles still have the young pieces to compete with them. It will be interesting to see how the season goes for the Orioles, but we know that plenty of wagers from local fans will be recorded. It should be a season to remember for them.
