Impressive August for New York sports betting as handle increases 29%

In a traditionally quiet month for US sport, handle for New York betting grew by 28.8% year-on-year to $1.44bn, with GGR up 26.5% to $125.0m. However, handle was still the lowest monthly total recorded for 2024 so far.

FanDuel and DraftKings accounted for around two-thirds of total GGR. The former saw GGR up 25.1% to $52.6m on the back of $511.6m handle, which was up 25.0%. DraftKings remained New York’s top operator in terms of handle, bringing in $526.7m, up 17.9% year-on-year. However, it was behind FanDuel in GGR terms, with its $43.4m up 22.9%.

August is one of the quietest months for sports betting because only Major League Baseball (MLB), among the major sports, is in full flow. The NFL season starts in early September so typically operators are preparing for any football season product launches during August.

BetMGM and Caesars were the only two other operators to break $100m in handle during August. BetMGM saw handle soar by 82.9% to $127.9m – its second-best monthly performance this year. However, GGR of $7.0m was up only 7.0% compared to August 2023.

Caesars’ handle of $119.9m and GGR of $9.4m were both down slightly compared to August 2023.

Wynn Interactive recorded zero handle after ceasing operations ahead of the launch of the new ESPN Bet.

The 51% GGR tax for New York sports betting meant operators kept just $61.2m of the $125.0m in revenue for August. The remaining $63.8m was allocated to education funding in the state.

Year-to-date handle tops $6.67bn

New York’s financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March, meaning we’re five months into 2024-25. For mobile sports betting in New York, total handle in the five months to 31 August amounted to $8.1bn, a 31.9% improvement on the prior year.