New York’s sports betting operators fared pretty well without football.
During the week ending Feb. 2, the Empire State’s nine online sportsbooks used a 10.8% hold to produce $56.3 million, the sixth-highest weekly revenue recorded since the NFL began in September and a 48% increase from the NFC and AFC Championship week.
During the week off before Super Bowl LIX, wagering suffered a 4% week-over-week decrease. The New York Gaming Commission reported that $519 million was bet, running the streak of $500 million handles to seven consecutive weeks.
During the off-week, wagering was up 34.2% compared to the same week in 2024, while revenue jumped 14.8%.
Seven sportsbooks enjoyed a double-digit hold for the week ending Feb. 2.
FanDuel enjoys 12% hold
FanDuel continued to dominate weekly New York sports betting, with a $197 million handle and $23.9 million in revenue during the week before the Super Bowl. The online sportsbook earned more than $20 million in profit for the fifth time in seven weeks and enjoyed a 12% hold.
DraftKings also generated $18.5 million in revenue on a $177.5-million handle, using a double-digit win rate. In three of the last four weeks, DraftKings has made at least $15 million in profit.
ESPN BET makes strides
Fanatics Sportsbook accepted $1 million less in wagers than the previous week and still finished third in New York with a handle of $40.7 million, but it was one of the operators that didn’t have at least a 10% hold.
BetMGM took in $38.8 million in wagers for fourth place while Caesars generated a $32.5-million handle. ESPN BET’s $18.1-million handle is the second-best the online operator has produced in New York since launching in late September. However, a 4.2% hold led to less than $770,000 in revenue.
BetRivers had a more profitable week, producing $1.2 million in revenue on $10.6 million wagered.
Calm before the storm
The week ending Feb. 2 was supposed to be the calm before the storm from an action standpoint. Based on how sports betting has gone this year for the U.S.’s most lucrative sports betting market, this should be the most-bet Super Bowl yet in New York’s fourth year of online wagering during the Big Game.
However, it might come with a noticeable profit decrease coming out of the Philadelphia Eagles’ easy win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
In 2024, Empire State sportsbooks generated 22.7% more wagers, nearly $90 million more, during the Super Bowl week compared to the previous week. However, revenue fell 89% week-over-week as operators combined to haul in just $5 million of profit during the biggest sports betting day of the year.
That’s not uncommon. The Super Bowl is typically tough on sportsbooks. BetMGM lost $9.6 million during that week last year.
