Sports betting operators in the most lucrative U.S. market went out with a bang in the final full week of 2024.
The New York Gaming Commission reported that the nine online sportsbooks hauled in $61.5 million in revenue during the week ending Dec. 29, the second-most this football season. It marked just the fifth time since mobile sports betting went live in January 2022 that the Empire State produced at least $60 million in revenue.
The massive profit during Christmas Week was up 80.9% compared to the previous week. Operators produced the most weekly revenue since mid-September with a handle that reached $519.8 million during the week ending Dec. 29, a 1.2% decrease from the previous period.
Still, the fourth handle in the last five weeks to reach $500 million was spurred by the NFL’s Week 17, which featured two Christmas Day games, and nearly 20 college football bowl games during the holiday period. This handle doesn’t include any bowl games from New Year’s Eve or the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
The 11.8% hold nearly doubled from the previous week and is the highest New York sportsbooks have produced since the week they made more than $69 million on a 14.4% hold in mid-September.
FanDuel wins big
Per usual, FanDuel was a huge beneficiary of a great week for New York sports betting operators, producing a 14.1% hold. The online sportsbook saw its handle jump nearly 4% week-over-week to $213.5 million while its revenue increased 93.6% to $30.2 million.
FanDuel surpassed $30 million of revenue in a single week for the fourth time ever in New York, and its latest handle is the largest since the week ending Nov. 10.
DraftKings generated the second-highest handle for the week with $165.6 million wagered at the online sportsbook. Revenue of $18.1 million was nearly $8 million more than the previous week’s haul and the best DraftKings has produced over the last five weeks.
Fanatics shines
Fanatics Sportsbook enjoyed another week-over-week handle increase to generate $43.5 million in wagers, finishing third among Empire State operators and ahead of BetMGM’s $37.5 million. A double-digit hold led to Fanatics hauling in $4.5 million, a 683% week-over-week revenue increase.
Caesars finished a close fifth with a $36.5-million handle. ESPN BET was unable to keep the momentum up from the previous week’s $20-million handle.
The online operator’s $8.9 million handle put it back behind BetRivers, which generated $10.1 million in wagers during the week ending Dec. 29 to finish sixth. However, ESPN BET’s profits jumped 408% week-over-week.
Bally Bet and Resorts World Bet both reported week-over-week increases in revenue.
