Return of football fuels $2.1bn in September handle for New York sportsbooks
Mobile stakes surpass $2bn threshold for first time since December 2023, while revenue across the nine bookmakers tops $200m
The return of football fueled a big September for New York’s sportsbooks, which cleared $2bn in mobile handle for the first time since December 2023 according to new figures from the New York State Gaming Commission.
Statewide handle came in at $2.07bn for the month, a 17.7% year-over-year (YOY) increase from $1.76bn during the same period of 2023 and a 44.3% surge from the $1.44bn generated in August.
Revenue was strong as well as operators reported a combined $204.7m in gross gaming revenue (GGR), equating to a statewide hold of 9.9%.
September marked the first month since May that New York sportsbooks eclipsed the $200m threshold, with revenue up 23.6% YOY.
New York has a 51% tax rate on GGR, which gave way to $104.4m in tax payments back to the state and left the industry with $100.4m in net revenue.
For the year up until the end of September, operators have contributed over $750m to Empire State tax coffers to benefit education.
Turning to operators, the biggest news of the month was the launch of ESPN Bet, but due to licensing delays the state’s newest entrant was only operational for four days in September.
During that window, the Penn Interactive-run brand accrued just over $4m in handle and $103,273 in GGR.
October should provide a better window into the early success of ESPN Bet. FanDuel and DraftKings, meanwhile, continued to dominate the market in September.
FanDuel led the way with just under $98m in revenue, which it held at a strong 12.5% rate on $784.2m in handle. September marked the sixth straight month in which FanDuel notched a double-digit hold.
DraftKings managed to eke out the top spot in monthly handle at $788.3m but ranked a distant second in revenue at $69.7m, equating to an 8.8% hold.
Caesars rounded out the podium with just over $13m in revenue on $147.2m in handle, with BetMGM ($143.9m handle, $10.3m GGR) and an emerging Fanatics ($143.2m handle, $8.4m GGR) nipping at its heels.