New York Sports Betting Market Hits $25B in Handle, Setting Record Pace

Article ByDavid Weir

July 6, 2023

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Posted in: New York Gambling News, US Gambling News, US Sports Betting News

New York’s sports betting market has made history by becoming the fastest state market to reach a $25 billion handle, according to the latest monthly figures released by the state regulator, the New York State Gaming Commission.

This milestone was achieved in May, just 17 months since the state began accepting mobile sports wagers in January 2022.

May’s overall handle of $1.35 billion was actually down approximately 12% on April’s figure. Nevertheless, it is another month of billion-dollar revenues during what is traditionally a quieter time for sports betting, as it is the off-season for most major US sports.

That huge $25 billion total has benefited the state to the tune of some $1.2 billion in taxes since the market launch. The state taxman collected $77 million from sports betting operators in May, which was up around 10% on April’s tax figure.

New York has the highest gambling operator tax rates of any legal state in the U.S. at 51% of gross gaming revenues.

Related: The best online sportsbooks in New York, rated

Rapid Ascent, FanDuel on Top

The $25 billion overall handle mark places New York residents in the company of New Jersey, Nevada, and Illinois as the biggest sports betting fans in the US.

However, New York’s rapid ascent to this milestone came in half the time it took those states. That shows the state’s sports bettors could become the largest market in the country in a few years.

The main sportsbooks bringing in New York customers have been FanDuel and DraftKings, and that trend continued in May 2023.

The two rivals were well ahead of their nearest competitor, Caesars Sportsbook, at the top of the pack.

FanDuel took first place as the most popular New York sports betting operator with $561 million in handle. It held on to $75.9 million of that as taxable revenues.

DraftKings narrowed the gap from April, sitting in second place with $471 million in May handle and $47 million in revenues.

Caesars came a distant third with $162 million in handle and a $13.9 million hold. BetMGM Sportsbook was just behind Caesars, with $93 million in handle and a hold of $8 million.

Bottom of the pack was Bally Bet, with a handle of $2.21 million and a hold of $173,560. That’s still better than April’s result for the Bally’s Entertainment sportsbook, which held on to just $28,731 of a $2.2 million handle in that previous month.

Related: Our expert guide to choosing between Bet MGM and Caesars Sportsbook

Strong Performance and High Returns

New York’s sports betting market has consistently shown strong performance.

The state’s all-time hold on that $25 billion handle was slightly more than 9.6%.

Sportsbooks improved on their average against bettors in May, however, with an 11.19% hold of $151.9 million against the $1.3 billion handle.

Which is welcome news for operators, as overall revenues were down slightly compared to April.

But every month during the off-season will suffer for coming after the record $1.786 billion New York bettors wagered in March 2023.

The important figure, usually, is year-on-year growth. On that metric, New York’s record-breaking month for total handle was also up 7.53% on last May’s figures.