A week after recording the second-lowest operator hold ever, Empire State sportsbooks bounced back during the Final Four.
Key takeaways
- Empire State sportsbooks generated $562.5 million in wagers, a 7.7% increase from the previous week.
- A 7.9% hold during the Final Four week was up significantly from 1.6% during the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
- All nine online sportsbooks enjoyed week-over-week revenue increases.
During the week ending April 6, the New York Gaming Commission reported a $562.5 million handle, a 7.7% week-over-week increase. And with an improved 7.9% hold, sportsbooks' $44.4 million in gross revenue jumped a whopping 427% from the previous week.
The NCAA tournament's first two weekends didn’t produce many upsets and let bettors feast, especially on high-seed moneyline parlays. All four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four, but the Houston Cougars shocked the pre-tournament favorite Duke Blue Devils late on Saturday. That gave sportsbooks a better week and killed off futures bets on the Blue Devils and Auburn Tigers as well.
The latest hold was up over 6 points from the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds of March Madness.
Better than last year
The previous week produced the lowest weekly revenue total in over a year. Compared to the same week in 2024, the latest reported period generated 5.5% more revenue on a handle that was 20.7% year-over-year.
Every week of the NCAA tournament produced $500 million handles and ran New York’s streak to six straight. Last year, only one week of March Madness surpassed $500 million.
Not including Monday’s Florida-Houston championship game, the men’s and women’s tournaments, combined with NBA and other sports action, generated more than $1.6 billion in wagers over the past three weeks, up nearly 7% from the same stretch in last year.
Operators improve
No New York online sports betting operator finished the week with a double-digit hold, but none suffered losses after two did the previous week. All nine sportsbooks saw week-over-week revenue increases.
FanDuel led all sportsbooks with a $212.3 million handle, but DraftKings had a better win rate on a $189 million handle to produce a weekly-best $16.5 million in income.
Fanatics Sportsbook finished third with a $50.8 million handle while BetMGM followed at $39.6 million. Caesars reached $38.6 million for the week. ESPN BET’s action rose over $5 million from the previous week to $15.7 million, but the online book only generated a 3.6% hold.
BetRivers was the only other operator to surpass $10 million in wagers and had the highest win rate at 9.8%.
