Sportsbooks in Washington DC saw a second consecutive month with a decline in total wagers accepted during December 2021.
Larger sports betting operations also saw dips in revenue and hold percentage last month. However, the smallest sportsbook in the area continued to trend in a positive direction.
The district’s four sportsbooks combined accepted $19.2m from bettors. The total represents a 10.3% drop from $21.4m in wagers in November. It was also a continued decline from the $26.3m handle during October.
Sportsbooks generated $1.4m in gross gaming revenue from the $19.2m handle. The revenue is a 68.5% drop from November’s $4.4m winnings.
Caesars by William Hill, a retail sportsbook at Capital One Arena, and district-wide online betting operator GambetDC, were hit the hardest. The two operators, who have nearly 85% market share combined, saw a drop in total handle, revenue and hold percentage.
Caesars won $572,583 from a handle of $11.4m, which is a 5% hold and a significant drop from the previous month. The operator recorded a $13.9m handle and a 21.8% hold in November, which resulted in revenue worth $3m.
GambetDC reported a handle of $5m and revenue of $665,718, good for a 13% hold in December. Those figures follow a $5.2m handle, $1.1m revenue and a 20.5% hold in November.
The only Class B license in DC, Grand Central, had opposite results. The sports bar reported an increase in both handle and revenue in its third month of sports betting.
Grand Central profited $91,789 after accepting $735,385 in bets during December 2021 sports betting, an increase from a handle of $494,997 and revenue of $67,075 in November.
Its hold dropped slightly from 13.6% in November to 12.5% but is still above the national average. The bar’s sports betting market share jumped from 2.3% to 3.8%.
BetMGM also experienced an increase in the handle but a decrease in revenue. It accepted $2.2m in wagers, up from November’s $1.8m, but generated a revenue of $68,614.
