If early August numbers are any indication, the summer legal sports betting lull in New York might be over, and the Empire State’s eight online sports betting sites didn't make out too poorly.
July’s handle dropped for the fourth consecutive month, but wagers were up 20% year-over-year while revenue spiked 43% from the same period in 2022.
The trend of lower numbers month-over-month continued, though, as the handle fell from $1.16 billion in June to $962.1 million in July, down 17% according to figures released by the New York Gaming Commission on Thursday.
Empire State operators hauled in $105.1 million in revenue, which was up nearly 2% month-over-month, and produced a hold of 10.9%. These numbers came without Bally Bet, which is reformatting its platform, for the entire month.
New York sports betting garnered $53.6 million in taxes, while the sportsbooks took home a combined $51.5 million after the 51% tax rate.
FanDuel, DraftKings nearly identical in revenue
FanDuel led the way in handle at $384.6 million and revenue of $41.09 million. DraftKings was second in handle at $340.4 million, and it nearly matched FanDuel in revenue at $41.08 million. Its hold of 12% beat out FanDuel’s 10.7% win rate.
Caesars reported $111.1 million in wagers and saw its revenue jump from $8.6 million in June to $10.6 million in July. BetMGM saw its handle drop more than $10 million month-over-month to $65 million, but July's revenue of $6.7 million was only about $300,000 less than June.
DraftKings scores huge weekly numbers
August is setting up to be a more profitable month for one particular sportsbook that produced over 50% of both the weekly handle and revenue for the week ending Aug. 6.
DraftKings made $25.1 million, its highest-grossing figure since it went live with online sports betting in Jan. 2022. That revenue is second-best to FanDuel’s $26.5 million, which it produced on January 22, 2023.
DraftKings’ $161.4 million handle, its best as an online sportsbook in New York, was a great way to kick off a new month and maybe get out of the summer lull as overall revenue in the Empire State went from $24.2 million last week to $43.4 million, up a whopping 79.3%.
DraftKings was by far the biggest beneficiary of the Empire State’s eight online sportsbooks, seeing its handle rise 71.2% and revenue go up 87% week-over-week, thanks to an incredible 15.5% hold.
FanDuel revenue spikes nearly 150%
FanDuel also made out well and came in second with a handle of $99.2 million. Wagers only went up about $4 million, but a healthy hold of 12.2% saw revenue jump 149% to $12.2 million.
Caesars posted the third-best handle at $28.7 million and produced $2.9 million in revenue. BetMGM recorded revenue of $1.8 million on a handle of $14 million.
As a whole, the handle jumped 28% week-over-week to $317.5 million, marking the first time New York has seen wagers going over $300 million since May 21. Revenue reached above $40 million for the first time since May 7, a stretch of 13 consecutive weeks.
Compared to the same week in 2022, the handle rose 63.6%, while revenue jumped 107.6%.
With the handle rising for a third consecutive week, it was an opportune time for operators to get the best of the bettors. A 13.7% hold during the week ending Aug. 6 put New York above 13% for the first since the May 28 period.
