As August turned into September, New York’s eight online legal sports betting sites combined to have one of the weirdest weeks of an already roller coaster summer.
Just a month ago, DraftKings recorded its record revenue of over $25 million in a single week. According to figures released by the New York Gaming Commission, the online sports betting site reported a record loss of $3.4 million on a handle of $116 million, its second-highest since June, during the week ending Sept. 3.
It marked the first time the sportsbook has come up in the red in the Empire State and the largest single-week loss of any sportsbook since New York went live in Jan. 2022.
Those struggles led to the lowest hold in New York history as well. The sportsbooks combined to record a handle of $312.8 million, which was up 47% week-over-week, but revenue of $8.3 million was the second lowest of all-time in the Empire State, leading to a 2.6% win rate. The worst week ever for New York operators is still October 17, 2022, when they recorded revenue of $6.2 million.
Revenue was down 61% from the previous week, and the hold dropped more than seven points.
Up and down
Since May, New York’s operators have seen handles of over $300 million five times, but only two of those have come since that month, which featured the bulk of the NBA playoffs.
Once the focus turned primarily to MLB, soccer, tennis, etc., the fluxations became more drastic. After sportsbooks hauled in $35 million in profits in the last full week of May, revenue stayed above $25 million in four of the next five weeks. Since then, seven out of the last nine weeks have been below that mark. There was a $43.5 million revenue spike in the week that DraftKings hit big, but then three consecutive weeks around $21 million.
Maybe the mid-summer collapses by the in-state MLB teams, the Yankees and Mets, had a lot to do with how and went Empire State bettors wagered.
FanDuel produces top handle
FanDuel, the other major player in New York, reported revenue of $7.3 million on a handle of $122.2 million, the highest among all New York operators, for a hold of 5.9%. That was down more than four points week-over-week, despite the handle jumping 38%.
Caesars had the third-best handle for the week at $36.2 million. BetMGM hauled in $18.5 million in wagers, but its hold of 9% brought in $1.7 million, which was about $300,000 more than Caesars and its 4.2% hold.
DraftKings wasn’t the only sportsbook to take a loss in the week ending Sept. 3. WynnBet paid out $36,727 more than it brought in on a handle of $2.1 million. It was the eighth time WynnBet has finished a week in the red in New York.
