$179m January Take for Massachusetts As Gaming Revenue Dips
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has posted its casino and sports betting revenue for January.
The bottom line shows a 6.4% decline in revenue, down to $179million.
Sports betting handle did increase, but it didn’t translate into revenue, which was down 12.7% to $82.4m for the month.
Casino revenue also declined, shedding 1.4%.
Gaming Revenue And Taxes
Massachusetts’ three licensed casinos, Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino, generated $96.6m of revenue from slots and table games.
Only Encore and MGM are licensed to offer table games and they generated a combined $26.8m in table game GGR.
All three casinos offer slots and produced $69.8m in revenue for the month. Plainridge pays 49% tax, as a category 2 slots facility, while the other two pay 25% of GGR. They combined to hand over $27.6m in tax revenue.
According to the MGC, the state has collected more than $2.3bn in tax revenue since the three casinos opened.
Sports betting is offered at the three retail casinos, as well as via seven category 3 online sports betting operators – Bally Bet, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPNBet, Fanatics and FanDuel.
"The vast majority of revenue came from mobile operators, with casinos only accounting for $302,000."
Across physical and mobile betting, operators saw $808.9m of handle – an increase of 6.1% compared to the year before.
Despite the increase in wagers, revenue was down. The sportsbooks posted $82.4m in revenue, which was 12.7% lower than in 2025.
The vast majority of revenue ($82.1m) came from mobile operators, with casinos only accounting for $302,000.
Casinos pay 15% tax on sports betting GGR, while online operators pay 25%. $16.5m of tax revenue was generated.
More than $400m in sports betting tax has been collected to date.
Ongoing iGaming Regulation Debate
iGaming is not yet regulated in the Bay State. However, that could soon change as three bills are currently in committee.
In the Senate, Sen. Paul Feeney has sponsored Bill 235, while Rep. Daniel Cahill and Rep. David Muradian Jr. have sponsored bills H332 and H4431, respectively.
All seek to regulate online casinos and create a framework for licensed operators that could include some of the best online casinos in the market.
HB4331 aims to introduce nine online casinos, taxed at 15%, while the other two bills would allow up to 10 skins with a 20% tax rate. Hearings for the bills have been set for March.
Proponents of regulation argue it would help curb black-market gambling in the state, protect players and generate additional tax revenue.
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However, opponents, including Encore Boston Harbor’s owners, Wynn Resorts, argue that online casinos would cannibalize the retail casino market, particularly as digital platforms offering the best online slots continue to grow in popularity.
It's unclear which way committees and voters will decide, especially as two recent surveys show contrasting results.
Beacon Research surveyed 1,000 people on behalf of the Sports Betting Alliance and found 59% support regulating online casinos.
Another poll, conducted by Emerson College and commissioned by the Stop iGaming in Massachusetts advocacy group, found 56% of residents opposed the plans, with opposition rising to 77% among seniors.
