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When it comes to the positives for Maryland sports betting, you already know that lawmakers and officials are surely all smiles seeing all the different reports come in. Maryland has been rocking with its great stats ever since betting was made legal. In December, January and February, the state recorded at least $300 million for betting. Well, things were great in March, as the Maryland sports betting numbers stayed hot last month.
Just this week, the official numbers were released to the public and people all over Maryland will surely be smiling when they see this: the revenue was $35.4 million for the state and the total betting handle was $386 million. Again, that is exactly what people want to see. With the winter months typically being high for betting across the USA, Maryland’s impressive stretch fits in with what a lot of states are seeing.
“As anticipated, March was a strong month for sports betting. After a sharp drop in February following the close of the NFL season, March Madness betting has brought a sense of recovery to the books,” said betting analyst Dru James told Jeff Clabaugh of the Washington Business Journal. “Given that spring and summer are the offseason of many professional and college sports, March’s numbers may be the highest in a while as betting opportunities become scarcer.”
While Clabaugh has hinted that the next few months could be a bit colder for sports betting because of the NFL, NCAA and NBA offseason, Major League Baseball will surely help pick things up a bit. The fact of the matter here is that Maryland sports betting continues to be a proverbial home run. The total betting handle being nearly $400 million just goes to show how popular sports wagers are for fans.
Top 10 U.S. states by sports betting dollars wagered, March 2023 (of states reporting so far):
1. New York: $1.79B
2. New Jersey: $1.03B
3. Indiana: $433M
4. Michigan: $421.7M
5. TN: $392.7M
6. Maryland: $386M
7. Louisiana: $249M
8. Iowa: $232.6M
9. Kansas: $206M
10. CT: $160M— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) April 18, 2023
March Madness was epic for Maryland sports betting
As you might have been able to guess, March Madness was epic for Maryland sports betting. Things of course were through the roof in March, but they lasted all the way to the National Championship Game in early April. As a whole, March Madness posted record-setting numbers this season, and sportsbooks cashed out big time thanks to all the massive upsets that we saw from start to finish in the tournament.
The fact that there was no No. 1 seed in the Final Four was eye-opening. For people in Maryland, they were hoping that some of the local-area teams would have been able to go on a deep run. This year, we saw UConn go on to win the National Championship, which not a lot of people thought was going to go down. In the first round, some of the best teams out there fell to lower seeds.
THE UCONN HUSKIES ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 🏆
The Huskies knock off San Diego State 76-59 to win their fifth National Championship in program history 🙌 #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/w4iOIZaOPd
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 4, 2023
Then we saw more of the same in the second round and Sweet 16. This truly was one of the wildest tournaments that hoops supporters have seen. The great thing for Maryland as well is that legal online sports bets are allowed. For some of the other states in the U.S., there’s only in-person betting that’s permitted, which is something that not a lot of people are huge fans of. Luckily, people in Maryland don’t have to worry about this.
Mobile betting was huge for March Madness, with people placing bets basically every hour during the tournament. The great thing about the start of MM was that you had games around the clock during the first round. People were glued to their mobile devices to not only check the latest March Madness betting odds, but also get their bets in. It’s easy to see why betting for the tournament was such a fun and attractive thing to do.
NFL Draft betting has been popular for a while in Maryland
One thing to keep in mind as well is that NFL Draft betting has been popular for a while in Maryland. Last month – and this month as well – people were getting their early NFL betting picks in for the 2023 draft. In Maryland particularly, people have a strong interest in who the Washington Commanders will be taking in the first round. There are a lot of different directions Ron Rivera and Co. could go in.
This year, the Commanders hold the No. 16 overall pick. On defense, this squad needs help in the secondary, with a lot of people thinking that the front office will go with a cornerback. Well, things could fit perfectly here for local fans, as the Commanders could end up going with Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks. Not only would Washington land a star CB, but they’d also land a local talent.
People are betting on Banks to fall to Washington. However, fans are also betting on who will be the No. 1 overall pick. Things should come down to either Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud, but there could be a surprise or two on the way in the first round of the draft. We’ll find out on Thursday night who goes No. 1 overall. We’ll also find out who Washington selects at No. 16 overall.
