The latest figures from the Kansas Lottery show that the state's sportsbooks earned $23.9 million in revenue in February, a step up from the $16.2 million collected in January.
The monthly handle decreased from $301.8 million in January to $216.2 million in February.
Online sports betting in Kansas remained the most significant form of wagering, accounting for $209.6 million of February's handle. DraftKings led the market with the highest handle, at $88.8 million, and it is still the most popular sportsbook in the state.
The others didn't miss out, either. FanDuel, ESPN BET, and BetMGM all recorded revenue gains over January.
| Provider | February Handle | February Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $89 million | $9.8 million |
| FanDuel | $68.1 million | $7.9 million |
| ESPN BET | $12.6 million | $2.9 million |
| BetMGM | $19.8 million | $2.1 million |
| Caesars | $11.3 million | $412,828 |
| Fanatics | $15 million | $632,977 |
| Total | $216 million | $23.9 million |
The strong February revenue performance suggests an optimistic outlook for March, which traditionally sees increased sports betting business due to the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament.
Sportsbooks may find ways to maintain improvement in hold percentages, causing revenues to have another upturn despite fluctuations in handles.
Revenues rise as handles fall
Compared to January sports betting figures, DraftKings reported the most revenue in February, $9.89 million, an improvement from its January amount of $7.96 million. This revenue growth of nearly $2 million was realized even though settled bets declined from $123.7 million in January to $89.2 million in February.
FanDuel also saw its revenue surge significantly, rising from $5.76 million in January to $7.98 million in February. Like DraftKings, FanDuel's handle for the overall company declined, falling from $98 million to $68.1 million. Though taking much less money in bets, FanDuel's increased hold percentage accounted for an uptick of more than $2.2 million in revenue.
ESPN BET experienced the sharpest month-to-month increase. The sportsbook only generated $364,230 in revenue during January but rose to nearly $2.91 million during February. This surge in revenue during a radical decline in hold percentage came with ESPN BET's total handle dropping from $19.6 million during January to $12.7 million during February.
BetMGM also posted good revenue growth, almost doubling its earnings from $1.06 million in January to $2.11 million in February. This decrease in handle from $25.6 million to $19.8 million resulted in this, and it also showed an improved sportsbook margin.
Caesars alone was the sportsbook that experienced a downturn in its revenues. The sportsbook posted a revenue of over $1.01 million in January but fell to $412,828 in February. Its handle also decreased from $13.6 million to $11.3 million, thus contributing to the overall decline in revenues.
Fanatics, whose January revenue Kansas Lottery had listed as zero, posted February revenue of $632,977 and a handle of $15.1 million.
