Sports betting apps give you millions of free bets in Maryland

by James · March 14, 2023

Sports betting apps advertise free bets to lure new gamblers. It’s legal and makes millions of dollars every month.

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported that the eight mobile sports betting apps licensed to operate in the state handled $325.1 million in wagers in February — $15.8 million of which was in free promotional bets.

Promotional games provided by sportsbooks to customers are deducted from the taxable winnings owed to the state.

Maryland’s 10 retail and eight state-sanctioned mobile sportsbooks generated a total of $339.4 million in wagers in February. Sports bets contribute 15% of taxable winnings to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, which supports public education programs.

Mobile betting brought the state $2.7 million in February. Retail sports betting, including betting parlors at Maryland casinos, contributed $98,114 in February.

Sportsbooks in Maryland do not limit deductions from promotional games during their first full year of operation. After that, the upper limit of promotional game deductions is 20% of the previous year’s taxable winnings.

Sports – both retail and mobile – are winning.

Winnings paid out to Maryland players in February totaled $299.2 million, the vast majority of which was paid out to users of the mobile sports betting app. Holdings, excluding winnings paid, were $40.2 million in February.

Maryland collects a 15% tax on sports betting, which was $2.8 million in February and totaled $11.5 million since Maryland’s sports betting program began in December 2021.

The Super Bowl did not cause a spike in sports betting in Maryland in February. Total sports betting was down 23.1% compared to January.

“Surprisingly, sports betting was down (in February),” said BetMaryland gaming analyst Dru James. “Many sports bettors likely expected record numbers in February in response to Super Bowl 57, but it appears that bettors were not as interested as originally expected.”

James added: “March will be a better month for betting. With almost two weeks of March Madness, there will be plenty of opportunities to make up for the losses experienced in February.”

The NCAA Tournament is the second most profitable sporting event of the year behind the Super Bowl.

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