Which Sportsbook Is Getting The Most Google Searches In Massachusetts?

Boston’s own DraftKings is leading the way in Massachusetts Google searches in the first few weeks of legal online sports betting in the state, according to Google Trends.

DraftKings and FanDuel are receiving roughly three to four times as many sports betting-related Google searches in Massachusetts. This is based on data provided from Google Trends for March 1-23.

MA online sports betting launched on March 10.

Other data from Google show extreme interest in sports betting for the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics based on search queries in the state. College basketball and March Madness betting searches ranked just behind Bruins Google searches in Play MA‘s research of Google Trends numbers.

Most popular sportsbook searches in Massachusetts

There was speculation that DraftKings Sportsbook MA could compete with FanDuel to be No. 1 in Massachusetts, seeing as it has brand name recognition in the state where it was founded and has its headquarters. That possibility is supported by the Google interest since the beginning of March, which was a week-and-a-half before online sportsbooks launched in the state.

The numbers listed above are not percentage of searches, but reflect an interest score over that period of time in Massachusetts.

According to Google: “Numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.”

Boston-based DraftKings has been more than four times as popular as both BetMGM MA and Caesars MA.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will release March online sports betting revenue figures on April 18. That will show which sports betting operators are accepting the most bets. It’s likely that data will reflect the Google search data in some way.

Consumers in the state are relying on Google to find the best Massachusetts sportsbook promos as they download and register to place wagers. It’s not just basketball, hockey and other prominent sports attracting customers. There are more than 60 sports allowed by law, including beach volleyball and floorball.

Searches by team and type of bet

The Bruins are having a historic season. The oddsmakers have them as the favorites to win the Stanley Cup (+260 according to Caesars Massachusetts). Thus, it’s unsurprising that the Bruins lead the way in sports betting related queries on Google, even more than the Celtics.

Searches for Red Sox odds will certainly increase after the regular season opens in late March, and the Red Sox start playing at Fenway Park.

In the pie chart above, on the right, we see the search queries for specific betting types in Massachusetts. In a reflection of the national trend, parlays are very popular among sports bettors, but moneyline is the top betting-specific term in Massachusetts currently.

Most DraftKings searches in Massachusetts since March 1

Three New England states dominate the searches for DraftKings Sportsbook in the US: Massachusetts and neighboring New Hampshire and Connecticut. An Interest Score of 100 indicates the highest level of interest. Massachusetts, since March 1, is showing it has more than twice the level of interest in DraftKings than every state except its two neighbors.

It’s to be expected that DraftKings and other Massachusetts sports betting apps will be the subject of many Google searches.

According Play MA projections, 87% of sports betting in Massachusetts will be done online via a mobile sportsbook. That means as much as $4.2 billion in bets will be placed via sportsbook apps in the Commonwealth in 2023. Eventually, the market will grow bigger than that, as sports betting is proving to be very popular among Massachusetts sports fans.

The Commonwealth has issued licenses to six online sportsbooks:

• DraftKings
• BetMGM
• Caesars Sportsbook
• FanDuel
• WynnBET
• Barstool Sportsbook

There can be as many as 15 mobile sportsbooks, according to state gaming laws. Ten of those licenses have been issued, with Bally Bet, Betway, Betr and Fanatics Sportsbook expected to enter the market later in 2023 and 2024.

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