Sports betting revenue in New York surpasses $1 billion in 2023 financial year.
New York's Sportsbooks Claim $99.2 Million in August Revenue, surpassing $1 Billion for the Year
New York's sportsbooks reported a robust performance in August, generating $99.2 million in adjusted gross revenue. The total revenue for the year now exceeds $1 billion, marking another successful month for the burgeoning industry.
The New York State Gaming Commission reported a sports wagering handle of $1.12 billion for the month, with mobile operators accounting for all but $5.4 million. August's handle marked the 16th time in 20 months of online wagering that New York topped $1 billion in wagers, representing a 27.4% increase compared to the same month last year.
The statewide hold was 8.9%, a decrease from the 12-month streak of revenues totaling $100 million or more. August's revenue was the fourth-lowest of New York's mobile era, which began in January 2022. The lightest figure since July 2022, when revenue was $73.9 million.
The revenues contribute significantly to state tax revenue, with August's inflow totaling $50.3 million, lifting the year-to-date total to $520 million. This represents a nearly $121.8 million increase compared to the total through August in the previous year.
Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo had projected sports wagering taxes to be at least $500 million annually when he championed its legalization with the current 51% tax rate. Operators made $693.9 million worth of tax payments last year and are on pace for $800 million in 2023, given consistent revenue figures for the final four months of 2022.
DraftKings Claims Top Spot in August Handle among Operators
DraftKings led the eight operators conducting wagering in New York, claiming a total handle of $446.9 million. This figure represents an 82.8% increase compared to the previous August and was boosted by a strong opening week of the month that saw all-time weekly records of $161.4 million handle and $25.1 million in revenue between July 30 and August 6.
DraftKings finished with nearly $35.5 million in winnings for August, corresponding to a 7.9% hold that was more than four percentage points lower than its all-time monthly high of 12.1% in July. FanDuel, meanwhile, posted a 10.3% win rate in August, keeping $42 million of its $409.1 million handle as it approached half a billion dollars in revenue for 2023.
Caesars and BetMGM maintained their strong positions in third and fourth place, respectively. Caesars came close to an 8% hold for August, earning $9.6 million in revenue from $120.1 million worth of wagers, and BetMGM had the second-highest win rate for the month at 9.3%, yielding over $6.5 million from handle totaling $70.5 million.
BetRivers rounded out the top five, finishing less than $7,000 shy of $3 million in revenue due to an 8.2% hold from a $36.3 million handle. Its wagering activity was more than PointsBet, WynnBET, and ResortsWorld combined, as these three operators accounted for $29.8 million worth of wagers while winning nearly $2 million.
Bally Bet remains shut down in New York, continuing its migration of the sports betting platform to Kambi. The process began in late June, and there has been no definitive timetable offered for when Bally Bet will relaunch in New York and other affected states.
State's Commercial Retail Sportsbooks See Modest Growth
The state's four commercial retail sportsbooks combined for $737,408 in revenue, representing a nearly 13.7% hold, the highest since reaching 13.8% last December. In contrast, though year-to-date in-person handle is down 12.2% compared to last year at $49.5 million, revenue is up 31.5% to $2.9 million. This is because the brick-and-mortar venues recorded small gains in the early part of the year compared to digging out of a $571,000-plus hole created in the opening two months of 2022.
Tioga Downs still records a deficit for 2023, having paid out $61,585 above the $4.1 million in accepted wagers thus far. However, August saw Tioga's best showing, with a win rate of 21.8%, more than canceling out July's loss of $113,752. Del Lago Resort also reported its best hold of the year at 23.9%, and Rivers Casino led the foursome with just above $221,000 in revenue.
Enrichment Data Integration
The legal status of sports betting in New York allows online betting since its launch in January 2022, with nine operators now active in the state. In 2024, New York reported a sports betting handle of $22.6 billion, the highest in any U.S. state since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018. The state's sports betting tax rate is 51%, generating $1.05 billion in tax revenue in 2024. Sports betting on college events taking place in New York is not allowed, even if the teams are from out of state.
- The robust performance of New York's sportsbooks in August, as reported by the New York State Gaming Commission, revealed a sports wagering handle of $1.12 billion, with a significant portion coming from mobile operators.
- The revenue generated from sports betting in August contributed significantly to New York's state tax revenue, amounting to $50.3 million for the month, marking a nearly $121.8 million increase compared to the total through August in the previous year.
- Operators in New York made $693.9 million worth of tax payments last year, and with consistent revenue figures, they are on pace for $800 million in taxes paid in 2023, which represents a significant contribution to the state's finance sector, given the high 51% tax rate on sports betting revenues.
