New York sports betting handle rises 9% in August to $877M; GGR escalates 35%

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) reported Friday that the total sports betting handle for August -mobile and retail combined- was more than $877.4 million. The figure is up 9% from July’s handle of $804.9 million.

New York's nine sports betting apps reported a combined $872.2 million in handle, up by 8.9% from July; while retail handle amounted to $5.2 million in bets. The latter was 22.9% up from July's $4.2 million.

The state’s total mobile Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) came at more than $99.6 million, up 35.8% from July. August saw total sports betting revenue, mobile and retail combined, amount to $100.8 million, 36.4% more than in July. 

Tax collected in the state for August made it up to more than $50.7 million, up $14.8 million from a month earlier. New York has a 51% tax rate, tied for the highest in the nation with New Hampshire. 

FanDuel led the market with a mobile handle of $374.5 million, while DraftKings saw $244.5 million, and Caesars Sportsbook reached $117 million. BetMGM made it to the top five with $72.9 million, and Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers saw $26.5 million. 

BallyBet, which was the latest addition to the market in July, handled a total of more than $1.01 million for August and has a two-month total of more than $1.65 million. Six of the nine mobile providers showed increases in their total monthly handle, with the exception of Caesars, BetMGM and Resorts World.  

Mobile GGR's top operator wasFanDuel with $46.5 million, while DraftKings raked in $25.8 million, and Caesars Sportsbook’s numbers rose to $12.7 million. BetMGM won $8.7 million and PointsBet saw $2.4 million. 

The beginning of the NFL season is expected to see NY's handle rise. This is the first full football season for New York with legal online sports betting. If the NFL season opener is any indication, it should be a lucrative few months for the state. 

Total geolocation volumes in New York for the kickoff of the NFL season stood at 3.7 million, according to GeoComply. It is expected that online sports betting handle should exceed $1 billion for the next several months. PlayUSA projects the state’s first $2 billion month for total handle in October, facing the possibility of reaching an $18 billion handle year.

Through September 4, New York online sportsbooks totaled $10.4 billion in handle, $793.9 million in revenue, and $404.9 million in tax revenue. FanDuel's domination in the state continues, with the operator gaining 43% handle share and 47% revenue share in August. DraftKings was second, with 28% handle share and 26% revenue share.