New York’s Double-Digit Hold Helps Sports Betting Operators in July

The Empire State recorded an impressive 11.3% hold in one of the slowest sports betting months of the year, leaving the nine online operators pondering what could have been with more action in July. 

The New York Gaming Commission reported a monthly handle of $1.26 billion, down 14.4% from June. However, July revenue rose 4.8% to $140.3 million, thanks to a nearly 2.5-point increase in win rate.    

No online sportsbook suffered a monthly revenue loss in July, and five of the nine operators saw month-over-month profit increases. The MLB All-Star break produced the lowest weekly handle in 11 months. With July only featuring baseball games, the end of a couple of soccer tournaments, and the beginning of the Olympics, betting activity was expected to suffer. 

Still, the amount wagered increased 31.1% from July 2023 while revenue jumped 33.5% year-over-year, showing more maturity in the New York sports betting market. 

The Empire State filled its coffers with $71.6 million of revenue from the 51% tax rate on sportsbooks.

Out with the old, in with the new  

WynnBet wrapped up its last month of operations in the New York market in July and stopped taking wagers on August 1. 

The online sportsbook went out with a whimper as it generated its first and only month of a handle below $1 million. WynnBet ends a run that began in February 2022 with $234 million wagered and revenue of just below $11.4 million all-time in the New York market.

With WynnBet’s announcement last year to exit several U.S. states, ESPN BET is set to take over Empire State operations. The PENN Entertainment-owned platform is expected to launch in the lucrative New York market by the start of this month’s football season.   

FanDuel stays ahead of 2023 pace 

FanDuel kicked off the second half of 2024 with a July handle of $482.5 million, the online sportsbook’s lowest monthly amount wagered since August 2023. However, July’s wagering puts FanDuel’s year-to-date handle around $4.95 billion, up 23.4% from the first seven months of 2023, and the operator has hauled in $550 million in gross revenue in 2024.

Meanwhile, DraftKings watched its revenue jump from $40.9 in June to $48 million in July. The popular operator enjoyed a 10.5% hold on a $456.8 million handle to finish ahead of FanDuel’s 10.2% win rate.

Caesars generated the third-best handle in the Empire State and was the only other operator to surpass $100 million wagered in July. BetMGM, which finished with the fourth-best handle, joined Caesars with holds just a hair below 10% as both operators profited more in July than in June. 

Fanatics enjoyed a 13.2% month-over-month uptick in handle, leading to a more than $2 million jump in revenue compared to June. 

BetRivers had one of the stranger months as the amount wagered at the sportsbook fell 48.5% from June, but a 9.9% hold produced nearly $1 million more in monthly profits. 

Mixed results

New York sports betting got off to a better start in the new month in terms of the amount wagered. The commission reported a $330.6 million handle for the week ending August 4, up 21.7% week-over-week. That ended a two-week streak under $300 million.

However, bettors held their own against the sportsbooks as the weekly hold of 6.8% fell below double digits for the first time in a month. Revenue of $22.6 million was down 34% from the previous week. 

DraftKings bested FanDuel to lead all operators with a handle of $125.8 million for the week, but a 6.2% hold led to $7.8 million in revenue. FanDuel generated $121.7 million in wagering, while revenue decreased from $14.6 million in the previous period to $8.9 million in the latest week.

No operator finished the week ending Aug. 4 in the red.  

Pages related to this topic