Sports Betting Surge Lifts Maryland’s Gambling Tax Contribution Above $1.6B

Maryland’s gambling industry sent more than $1.6 billion to state programs and services in fiscal year 2026, a new record for the program, and sports betting is increasingly doing the heavy lifting. The Maryland Lottery, the state’s six casinos, sportsbooks and fantasy sports operators combined to contribute $1.637 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. That’s $48 million more than fiscal 2025 and tops the previous record of $1.589 billion set in fiscal 2023.

While casinos still generate the largest share of the total, sports wagering posted by far the biggest percentage jump of any gaming category, signaling a market that continues to mature well beyond its 2022 launch.

Sports Betting Leads the Growth

Sports wagering contributed $132.3 million to the state in fiscal 2026, up 48.8% from $88.9 million the year before. Combined with fantasy sports contributions, the category delivered $133.3 million total. Of the sports wagering total, $99.7 million flowed to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund, which supports public education, while $32.6 million went to the state’s General Fund. Retail sportsbooks pay 15% of taxable proceeds to the Blueprint Fund, while mobile operators pay 15% to the Blueprint Fund plus another 5% to the General Fund — a structure that has made mobile sports betting in Maryland the primary driver of the category’s growth. Mobile handle alone topped $6.79 billion for the year, according to state data, dwarfing the retail market.

Fantasy sports operators added just over $1 million to the Blueprint Fund on top of the sports wagering figure, a smaller but still growing slice of the overall pie. Taken together, sports wagering and fantasy contributions have more than doubled the state’s take from those categories in just a couple of fiscal years, reflecting both rising betting volume and a stabilizing hold percentage as operators refine pricing and promotional strategy in a market that is no longer new.

The growth also comes despite a hold percentage that has bounced around in the low-to-mid teens throughout the year — a normal range for a mature market — meaning the increase in state contributions is being driven primarily by higher betting handle rather than unusually favorable outcomes for sportsbooks. Monthly state tax figures show Maryland sportsbooks pulling in anywhere from roughly $7 million to $11 million a month depending on the sports calendar, with football season historically providing the biggest lift.

Casinos and Lottery Still Carry the Load

Maryland’s six casinos remain the single largest contributor, generating $1.931 billion in gaming revenue — the fifth-best total in the 16-year history of the state’s casino program — and sending $822.2 million of that to the state. The bulk, $599.1 million, went to the Education Trust Fund, pushing that fund’s cumulative casino-driven contributions past $7 billion since Maryland’s first casino opened in 2010. The rest supported local communities near casinos ($103.4 million), the state’s horse racing industry ($94.7 million), the Small, Minority and Women-Owned Business Fund ($20.3 million) and problem gambling programs ($4.4 million).

The Maryland Lottery added $681.6 million in profits on $2.68 billion in sales, remaining the state’s single largest gaming revenue source even as sports betting closes the gap on a percentage basis. Altogether, $699.8 million of the year’s total contributions were earmarked for education programs, and the state’s Problem Gambling Fund took in $5.4 million, combining casino per-machine assessments with expired sports wagering prizes.

What It Means Going Forward

The numbers illustrate a broader trend playing out across states with mature sports betting markets: legal wagering is no longer just a novelty revenue stream but a consistent, growing contributor to state budgets. Maryland legalized mobile sports wagering in November 2022, and the market has expanded steadily since, with multiple licensed operators now competing for bettors across the state. That competition has translated into a wave of promotional offers as sportsbooks vie for market share, which has helped drive the handle growth reflected in this year’s tax contribution figures.

Lawmakers in Annapolis have periodically floated proposals to raise the mobile wagering tax rate beyond its current 15% baseline as they look for additional revenue sources, following the lead of states like Illinois and New Jersey that have adjusted their own sports betting tax structures in recent years. Any such change would directly affect how much of each dollar wagered ultimately reaches the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Fund and the General Fund, so it’s a space worth watching heading into the next legislative session.

For now, the trajectory is clear. With Maryland’s mobile handle continuing to climb year over year, sports betting’s share of the state’s total gaming contribution is likely to keep expanding relative to the more established casino and lottery categories. For bettors following the market, it’s also a reminder of just how much volume is moving through Maryland sportsbooks each year — a sign of a well-established, competitive landscape for anyone comparing operators and looking for the best available offers.