Sports Betting Generates $4.55 Mil in Tax Revenue for Massachusetts in August

Bettors put nearly $315 million on the line in wagers on sporting events that took place last month, producing more than $22.7 million in taxable revenue for operators and about $4.55 million in tax revenue for the state.

The Mass. Gaming Commission said Friday that sports wagering and casino-style gambling combined in August to generate more than $120.6 million in taxable revenue for operators and $32.16 million in revenue for the state. Gambling at the state’s three casino-style facilities -- the Plainridge Park Casino slots parlor, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor -- was responsible for the great majority of both the operators’ revenue ($97.9 million or 81.2 percent) and the state’s tax take ($27.62 million or 85.8 percent).

There was $314.9 million wagered on approved sporting events that took place in August, up from a handle of $294.9 million in July but still down from the $332 million wagered on June events and the state’s high water mark of $568.2 million wagered on March events.

Almost all of the betting activity (97.6 percent) in August took place on the eight mobile or online platforms last month, the Gaming Commission said. Those companies were taxed on $22.55 million of the $23.3 million they counted in revenue. That generated state revenue of $4.51 million for the month.

The sportsbooks at the state’s three brick-and-mortar gaming centers took in about $177,200 in revenue from in-person sports wagering, about $157,780 of which was taxable. That spurred another $32,356 in tax revenue for the state last month.

On the casino side, Plainridge Park produced more than $13 million in gross gaming revenue, MGM Springfield generated about $23.5 million and Encore produced $61.3 million in revenue, the Gaming Commission said. That works out to $27.62 million in state tax revenue for the month.

To date, Massachusetts has collected $50.35 million in total taxes and assessments from sports wagering operations, which launched in January, and $1.515 billion in total taxes and assessments from casino operations, which launched in mid-2015.

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