In 2024, the sports betting industry in Connecticut continued to grow, expanding from a successful year in 2023, when the handle crossed $1.762 billion. According to the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, there was a significant uplift of 49.6 percent of the overall betting handle in the sports category individually for the month of May, with $163.6 million. This impressive number increases the total year-to-date handle to $873.8m, 24.8% higher than the same period in 2023.
Out of all the states in the United States over the past 32 months, May’s betting statistics surfaced among the top 10. In addition, it also marked the third-highest handle for this year. This means that Connecticut sports betting operators could generate $17.1 million in revenue from this handle alone, including a hold rate of 10.5%.
Such an outcome demonstrates a trend toward recovery, which is especially significant considering the fact that April saw the lowest level of betting activities in 2024. Comparing the statistics from two consecutive months, April and May, it is possible to identify a 4.4% growth in the overall number of bets and a 5.7% increase in revenue. Furthermore, it has benefited the state in other ways, as the state got $1.97 million in tax revenue for May, or over $10.4 million yearly, from sports betting taxes.
When it comes to online sports betting, there might not be a lot of options available in Connecticut since there are only three online platforms. However, these trio are generating impressive results. In May, for instance, they could pull $16.16 million in revenues from an online handle of $155.55 million, thus a hold rate of 10.39%. Most of this activity was dominated by FanDuel and DraftKings, who controlled nearly 88% of the online sports betting market in the state last month with a total combined handle of $136.73 million.
Fanatics, formerly known as PlaySugarHouse, has been gradually taking market share. In May, it reached $1.882 million, higher than April 2007 by about 33 percent. This means that Fanatics has a high chance of expanding and is slowly gaining popularity among customers. The best sports betting sites USA continues to influence the competitive dynamics in the state, pushing operators to innovate and offer better services to capture a larger market share.
Even with limited operators, the Connecticut retail sportsbooks are already making waves. Collectively, these sportsbooks received $8.1 million in bets in May, while their gross revenue reached $990,600. Most of these bets were placed through the Connecticut lottery and Fanatics, where the total reached $7.84 million. This combined operation has yielded a total wager amount of $38.77 million since the commencement of 2024 and $3.91 million in year-to-date revenue.
Even the smaller events at the XL Center were quite successful; the handle amounted to $258,270 with over $54,000 in revenue. This means the house had a win frequency of more than 20%.
The growth of the betting industry in Connecticut shows not only the increase in the state’s market but also the trend of integrating sports betting into the general entertainment stream. By adopting this trend, Connecticut is setting the groundwork in the competitive sports betting market despite being small.
