The kickoff of the NFL season propelled sports betting handle in New York state over $2 billion in September.
The latest report issued by the New York State Gaming Commission showed just over $2.07 billion bet online in the state in September. That was the second highest monthly total ever, just coming up short of the $2.11 billion wagered in November 2023.
This also marked the fourth time in the New York market’s history that the total bet in a single month surpassed $2 billion.
The $2.07 billion was a large increase in the betting handle reported the previous year in September. In September 2023 the betting handle was $1.76 billion, meaning the 2024 results were a 17 per cent increase.
While the betting handle was the second-highest in state history, sportsbook’s winnings also followed suit. Sportsbooks reported a near 10 precent hold rate and $204.7 million in winnings. The largest monthly winnings ever reported in New York was $211.7 million n January, 2024.
The most popular sportsbook in the state was DraftKings with $788.3 million in handle. From those bets DraftKings had just under a nine percent hold for $69.7 million.
Slightly trailing DraftKings in handle was FanDuel with $784.2 million. Despite reporting a lower handle that DraftKings, FanDuel has a larger hold and larger winnings of $98 million.
Rounding out the Top 5 in sports betting handle for the month were Caesars Sportsbook with $147.2 million, BetMGM with $143.9 million, and Fanatics with $143.2 million. That was a new monthly high for Fanatics since they took over PointsBet license in March.
September also saw the debut of ESPN Bet in New York. ESPN launched in New York on September 27, leaving them all four active days in the month. During those four days they reported $4 million in betting handle, and $103,000 in winnings.
Penn Entertainment, which owns ESPN Bet, entered the New York market by purchasing Wynn Bet’s sports betting license for $25 million earlier this year.