New York Sets American Record and Eclipses $2 Billion Monthly Handle

New York’s sports betting market in October became the first in any state to eclipse $2 billion in total online handle in a single month.

The $2.01 billion figure presented a 30.5% year-to-year increase on the $1.54 billion total reported during October 2022. It was also 14.2% larger than the September betting handle and also set a record for gross gaming revenue during a single month.

New York legalized sports betting in January 2022 and has been the national leader ever since, just as October’s returns suggest.

Online sportsbooks claimed $166.3 million in revenue during October thanks in part to the variety of sports in session. For only the 30th time ever there was a “sports equinox,” or a day (October 30) when the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL all had games at the same time.

According to reports filed with the New York Gaming Commission, FanDuel was the leader in the Big Apple just one month after it was usurped by DraftKings. FanDuel was responsible for $892 million of the total handle, while DraftKings continued another $652.3 million.

Caesars, Rush Street Interactive, and BetMGM accepted $193.2 million, $114.2 million, and $107.6 million in bets.

FanDuel also gained the most revenue during October, totaling $83.1 million (just under 50% of the state’s total). DraftKings generated $59.3 million, and Caesars took home another $10.9 million.

All in all, operators collected $81.5 million in net profit. They also paid $84.8 million in taxes to the state, which was another record for any state in a one-month period.

All of the handle, revenue, and tax figures include the contributions of PointsBet, which already agreed to sell its North American assets to Fanatics Sportsbook for $225 million—however, it is yet to launch in New York.

The company expects to service customers with online and mobile sports betting options before the end of the year.

Disney and PENN Entertainment’s joint sportsbook venture ESPN Bet also opened for operation on November 13, though it is not available in New York and needs proper licensing if it wants to expand to the state.

New York’s thriving sports betting ecosystem has been a source of motivation for other states to legalize or ramp up their efforts to grow their gambling market.

Maine recently went live with sports betting, completing an entire Northeast section of America (minus Vermont) that has legal, live sports betting markets (Vermont has legalized but not launched its market).

The launch of ESPN Bet is also going to put sports betting in front of more sets of eyes as ESPN plans to intertwine betting with its traditional sports coverage and content options. It’s already made a splash in Florida, which also recently re-launched its sports betting market, where a bettor won $5.5 million from a $500,000 parlay during NFL Sunday in Week 10.

The parlay centered around a matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans and included the following legs:

• Texans moneyline (Texans to beat the Bengals)
• Over 44.5 total points scored
• Texans running back Devin Singletary to score a touchdown
• Singletary over 51.5 rushing yards

Let's see those other winning slips today!

Who else cooked us? 🧑‍🍳 pic.twitter.com/PzriJ6ywWZ

— Hard Rock Bet (@HardRockBet) November 12, 2023

The Texans, who were 7.5-point underdogs at most online sportsbooks, pulled the upset and won outright as C.J. Stroud led them on a drive that resulted in a 38-yard field goal as time expired.

New York and the 36 other states (plus Washington D.C.) are currently in the first month of betting on the NBA in-season tournament, which made its debut earlier this month and results in a four-team bracket in Las Vegas on December 9.