New York Sports Betting: Revenue Up While Handle Drops

According to New York’s State Gaming Commission, the total amount spent on sports betting amounted to $1.26 billion in July. That shows a 31.2% increase in sports betting expenditure compared to July 2023, shows a 14.3% decrease compared to the $1.47 billion spent in June 2024. That’s the lowest monthly handle reported since the $1.11 billion wagered in August 2023.

Traditionally, July is among the quiet months for the US sports betting market since the MLB is the only local league in action. However, the last weeks of July this year benefited immensely from the Paris Olympic Games and the Copa America competition hosted in the US during the first half of this month. That contributed to the year-to-year revenue growth reported in the market.

The growth in New York’s betting revenue decreased to a stronger hold. This revenue hit $140.3 million, representing a 4.8% monthly growth and 33.5% year-in-year growth. New York also increased the operators' hold across all operators to 11%, compared to the 9.1% recorded in June this year. Here’s a closer look at the New York sports betting market and key trends.

FanDuel Continues Dominating New York’s Sports Betting Market

The Empire State has around 10 licensed sports betting operators including Fanatics Sportsbook, BetMGM, Draftkings, Ceasars, Rush Street, Resorts World Bet, WynnBet, BetRivers, Bally Bet, and FanDuel. But while New York allows betting through these sportsbooks, FanDuel remains the biggest operator in the market. In July 2024, FanDuel recorded $59.3 million in revenue from a handle of $482.5 million. That represented a 12.3% hold for the operator, beating the market’s average.

DraftKings came in second with $48 million in revenue from a handle of $456.7 million, recording a 10.5% hold. The chasing group is increasingly bunched, with Caesars handling $108.6 million to earning $10.8 million in revenue after a 10.8% hold. However, Fanatics surpassed BetMGM with their 11.7% hold to generate $8.9 million from $76 million in total bets.

Entertain and BetMGM’s joint venture handled $89.2 million in sports bets, but a low hold of 9.7% saw them collect $8.8 million in revenue. Rush Street was the only other sportsbook in New York that generated over $1 million in revenue with a betting handle of $35.4 million.

Considering New York's 51% GGR tax, sports betting operators in the state only kept $68.8 million from the $140.3 million in revenue collected in July. The other $71.6 million went to the state’s education funding.

Annual handle exceeds $6.67 billion in July

With New York’s fiscal budget running from 1st April to 31st March, we are already in the first quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year. For mobile sportsbooks in the state, the total handle for the first quarter ending 30th July totaled $6.67 billion, recording a 32.6% growth compared to 2023/2024.

Bets placed with DraftKings and FanDuel accounted for $5.10 billion or 76.5% of the total handle. FanDuels handled $2.8 billion and accounted for 38.7% of all the bets, while DraftKing’s handle was $2.2 billion or 37.8%. That shows the huge dominance that DraftKings and FanDuel have in New York’s sports betting market.

As for sports betting revenue, the state reached $661.4 million in the first quarter of the year. That’s a 32.3% increase in year-on-year revenue, with DraftKings and FanDuel dominating 81.9% of the market with $541.7 million. However, FanDuel led the market in revenue with $305.4 million, with DraftKing earning $236.3 million.