April Numbers Show DraftKings Building Lead Over FanDuel In MA Market

DraftKings again beat FanDuel for top spot in the Massachusetts sports betting market in April, the first full month with online sports betting in the state.

That’s according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which released April sportsbook handle and revenue totals Monday.

DraftKings took in the most handle at $283.8 million — or 52% of the market — and FanDuel took in $172.6 million — or 31.6% of the market. In total, all six active Massachusetts online sportsbooks reported $546.2 million in April handle and $58.5 million in revenue, for $11.7 million in state taxes.

The solid result for DraftKings in its home state could be something to build on as it tries to track down national leader FanDuel in the bigger picture.

Revenue for each Massachusetts app

In the MGC’s report, both handle and revenue were broken down by licensee, plus revenue hold percentage and taxes paid to Massachusetts.

Again, DraftKings Massachusetts led the way in handle and FanDuel Massachusetts was second.

Here’s how the six MA sports betting apps shook out, first ranked by handle:

Sportsbook	April Handle	Market Share
DraftKings	$283.8 million	52%
FanDuel	$172.6 million	31%
BetMGM	$42.9 million	7%
Barstool Sportsbook	$24.6 million	4%
WynnBET	$22.8 million	4%
Caesars Sportsbook	$19.4 million	3%
Total	$546.2 million

And now by revenue:

Sportsbook	April Revenue	Revenue Hold %
DraftKings	$28.3 million	10.20%
FanDuel	$21.7 million	12.8%
BetMGM	$4.6 million	10.98%
Barstool Sportsbook	$1.9 million	7.98%
Caesars Sportsbook	$1.6 million	8.66%
WynnBET	$405,977	2.03%
Total	$58.5 million

DraftKings leading the way

In March, the first month of online sports betting in Massachusetts, DraftKings defeated FanDuel to be the No. 1 sportsbook in Massachusetts.

DraftKings followed up that performance by increasing its total handle of $257.6 million in March to over $283 million in April. That is big for the Boston-based company, but obviously expected given there were nearly two full weeks of more sports betting action in April than in March.

More significant, however, is the increase seen in DraftKings’ revenue share. FanDuel actually reported a higher revenue than DraftKings did in March ($16 million vs. $15.6 million). In April, DraftKings had $28.3 in revenue, compared to FanDuel at $21.7 million.

So, according to the MGC, DraftKings jumped up from 47% to 52% market share in handle, and 34.2% to 48.4% market share in revenue. That 14.2% surge in revenue share is significant.

That’s likely due to the Massachusetts-born sportsbook spending less on advertising and promotion outside of launch, as well as fewer and fewer new bettors taking advantage of the MA sportsbook sign-up bonuses.

DraftKings’ victory in Massachusetts is especially big when you consider that FanDuel is the market leader on a national scale. Per gambling analytics firm Eilers & Krejcik, FanDuel dominates the national market, taking in 46% of the market. On the other hand, DraftKings holds 25% of the market.

So, taking control in Massachusetts is a big step forward for Boston-based DraftKings.

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