Super Bowl week got ugly for sports betting operators in the Empire State.
New York’s nine online sportsbooks combined to generate an astounding 1.1% hold on a handle of $474.6 million in the week ending Feb. 11.
The Empire State’s sportsbooks combined to produce $5.1 million of revenue, the lowest week of profits since legal online wagering began in January 2022, according to figures released by the New York Gaming Commission on Friday.
The previous low was $6.2 million set during the week ending July 22, 2022.
Most of the Empire State’s lack of revenue came from BetMGM, which was hammered with a $9.6 million loss for the week.
The public-backed Kansas City Chiefs beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII broke a streak of 22 consecutive weeks with revenue of more than $20 million.
The poor week comes on the heels of New York producing a record $211 million of revenue in January.
Bad week to be a sportsbook
New York operators haven’t had a week under $10 million in revenue since producing $8.3 million in the week ending Sept. 3, 2023.
That was before the NFL season began. It ended with bettors crushing the sportsbooks.
The latest handle marked the 16th week in the last 17 of more than $400 million and rose 22.8% from the previous period. However, revenue fell 89.4% a week after sportsbooks enjoyed a 12.5% hold.
The Super Bowl is usually not a great week to be a sports betting operator. Last year, when the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles, New York sportsbooks generated revenue of $12 million on a handle of $424.3 million. In 2022, the Empire State produced $15.4 million of revenue on a handle of $472.1 million.
Heavy hitters produce below 5% hold
FanDuel and DraftKings, the powerhouses in the New York market, did turn profits for the week, but it was far from what they were used to this NFL season.
FanDuel generated a handle of $203.9 million but only brought in $8.2 million in revenue, a hold of 4%. DraftKings did slightly better in win rate, recording revenue of $7.1 million on a handle of $167.3 million.
No week-over-week raise
BetMGM wasn’t the only sportsbook to finish the week in the red. Caesars lost $1.3 million on a handle of $47.3 million. Wynn Interactive, which recently sold its New York sports betting license to PENN Entertainment’s ESPN BET, lost $34,000 on a handle more than $1.9 million.
No online operator made more in the week ending Feb. 11 than it did in the previous week.
