- Massachusetts reported $678.4 million in sports betting handle for the month of April, down 1.7% from 2025.
- The state recorded $83.4 million in revenue at a 12.3% hold rate, a 23.3% increase from last year.
BOSTON – April was a bit of a down month for overall sports betting handle in Massachusetts, reporting a $678.4 million handle for the month, the third straight to fall below $700 million after surpassing that mark in the previous five months.
It was also a 1.7% year-over-year decrease, which is slight but still an underwhelming result for the state.
However, April was a major success in terms of revenue, reeling in $83.4 million in revenue on a 12.3% hold rate, the highest revenue share since January and the highest hold rate since May of 2025. It was a 23.3% increase in revenue from last April.
DraftKings had the best month out of all the legal sports betting sites available in the state, hauling in $44 million in revenue from a $335.1 million handle for a 13.1% hold rate.
Celtics Failure Results In Major Win For The State
The Celtics’ 3-1 choke in the first round of the NBA Playoffs was almost certainly a major contributor to the increased hold rate, as sports bettors in Massachusetts likely lost plenty of money on Boston losing three straight to the 76ers.
The hold rate would have been even higher had the series ended in April with plenty of futures on Conference Finals and NBA Finals involving the Celtics losing, but Game 7 took place on May 2nd, rolling over to the next month.
Red Sox Giving Back To The State As Well
In the first full month of the MLB season, the Red Sox went 11-15, a major disappointment for a team coming off of their first playoff appearance since 2021 and aspirations of making a deep postseason run. Manager Alex Cora was fired on April 25th after a 10-17 start to the season.
They started the month 1-5 before a 6-3 stretch which gave bettors some hope, then went 4-7 over their next 11 games, including getting swept by the Yankees at home, which likely amounted to plenty of money going back to the state from lost bets.
