DraftKings nearly made a successful late push to overtake FanDuel for the top revenue spot in New York among mobile sports wagering operators for July, coming just $8,700 shy according to figures released by the state’s gaming commission on Thursday.
The Massachusetts-based sportsbook finished with just under $41.09 million in revenue, a 10.7% improvement from June thanks largely to a 12.1% hold that represented an all-time high for DK since launching in New York in January 2022.
According to the figures for the week ending Aug. 6, DraftKings ended July and began August with a flourish, setting its all-time weekly highs for revenue (at $25.1 million) and handle (at $161.4 million) that paced the eight mobile books taking wagers. The former is the No. 2 all-time weekly revenue for all mobile operators, trailing only the $26.6 million won by FanDuel for the week ending Jan. 22.
FanDuel’s revenue for July, which came within $5,000 of $41.1 million, was generated on a hold of 10.7% on $384.6 million in accepted wagers. It was the fifth straight month FanDuel had a double-digit win rate, as it surpassed $1.1 billion in total revenue in 19 months of mobile betting in the Empire State.
Overall mobile handle in New York was $962.1 million, marking the first time since August it was below $1 billion. It was, however, a 20.2% year-over-year improvement from the $800.8 million wagered online in July 2022. That total for July 2022 is the lowest in the 19 months of mobile betting in the state.
The total amount wagered in the state this July was $966.6 million, as retail handle totaled$4.4 million.
The eight active mobile operators — Bally Bet did not take any wagers in July as it continues migrating its online platform to Kambi — combined for $105.1 million in adjusted gross revenue for a 10.9% hold, while the state’s four commercial retail sportsbooks kicked in $380,000 in winnings. The mobile hold is the fourth-highest in 19 months for New York books and the second in the last three months to exceed 10%.
The state received $53.7 million in taxes from sports wagering, and the $469.7 million in the first seven months of 2023 is $122.4 million ahead of last year’s pace.
Double-digit hold becoming more common
Four of the eight mobile operators taking wagers had double-digit holds for July, with Resorts World (11.9%) and BetMGM (10.4%) also getting in on the act. Everyone finished with a win rate above the long-held “industry standard” of 7%, with WynnBET — which is reviewing its New York operations after announcing plans Friday to leave eight states — the lone book below 9% at a still-decent 7.7% hold.
Caesars Sportsbook posted a 9.6% win rate as it also reached eight figures in revenue for July, finishing with $10.6 million from $111.1 million handle. BetRivers had its all-time monthly high for hold, cracking 9% for the first time as it claimed $3.2 million from $35.7 million in accepted wagers.
Resorts World’s hold for July was also an all-time high, and its first above 10% since crafting a 10.5% win rate in its first month of operations in March 2022. BetMGM’s double-digit hold was its second ever for a monthly period and its first since a 12.4% posting last August.
Contributing to another national benchmark
Running 2023 YTD Top 10 #SportsBetting handles by state (thru July in CAPS)
1 NEW YORK $10.12B
2 Illinois $5.4B
3 New Jersey $5.16B
4 Nevada $4.03B
5 Ohio $3.83B
6 Pennsylvania $3.54B
7 Arizona $2.83B
8 Virginia $2.61B
9 Colorado $2.58B
10 MARYLAND $2.32B#GamblingTwitter— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) August 11, 2023
Since New York’s mobile launch last year, nationwide handle and revenue benchmarks are being reached in much faster fashion. The Empire State’s July numbers sent all-time operator gross revenue above $20 billion in the post-PASPA era. Mobile revenue from New York alone has accounted for more than 11% of that total at $2.3 billion.
To put the expansion of sports wagering in the United States in some perspective, it took four years of wagering to reach $10 billion in national operator gross revenue. That benchmark was reached in June 2022, meaning it has taken only 13 months to nearly match that total, aided by fellow large states Ohio and Massachusetts entering the marketplace and by substantially improved operator performance.
In the last 12-plus months starting with July 2022, operators nationwide have posted a 9.4% hold on $103.9 billion handle, resulting in $9.8 billion in gross revenue. New York has accounted for $1.7 billion of that revenue, tops among all states, with a win rate just above 9.4%.
