New York’s mobile sports betting operators continue to rack up significant wagering volume in the last full week of November 2023. According to the New York State Gaming Commission, for the week ending on November 26, 2023, the nine operators posted another weekly handle above the US$500 million mark, but revenue dropped significantly from the prior week.
The Empire State has operated a mobile sports wagering market since January 2022, which allows for nine private operators to offer and accept digital bets on sports in the state. These brands are FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, and PointsBet which will rebrand to Fanatics, WynnBET, Resort WorldBET, Bet Rivers, and the recently reintroduced Bally Bet.
Handle Still Strong but Earnings Drop
For the week ending on November 26, 2023, the nine digital bookmakers reported a combined betting volume of US$516.6 million, which is the second week in a row with wagering volume above US$500 million and the third time in five weeks after only making that milestone once. The return of football has been a major factor in the rejuvenation of the market.
Despite the solid weekly betting volume, gross gaming revenue for the week of November 26 dropped by 47% to US$21.5 million from the previous week. After its previous average hold of 7.7%, the hold for operators slipped to 4.2% in the last week of November. It was the lowest hold and first time revenue below US$25 million since the final week before football.
FanDuel was again the bettors’ choice as it produced the largest portion of the total gambling handle with US$214.8 million. Its handle was 18% lower from the previous week, and revenue was down 37.5% to US$11.6 million. DraftKings was again in second with a wagering volume of US$186.9 million and a hold of 4.2% generating proceeds of US$7.9 million.
Meanwhile, Caesars Sportsbook disclosed a jump in handle from US$46.4 million from the previous week to US$55 million for Thanksgiving week. However, it only produced US$494,510 in pre-tax proceeds. BetMGM also had a turbulent week as it reported revenue of just US$395,877 from US$29.4 million. Resorts WorldBET and WynnBET both finished the week in red.
Furthermore, Bally Bet, which had its second week since returning to the Empire State market reported a slight increase in revenue from US$1.76 million to US$1.84 million. The sportsbook restarted work in the state in the middle of November after going offline in the summer of 2023 to integrate technology from Kambi Group and overhaul its sports betting platform.
iGaming Expansion is on the Cards
After the success of mobile sports wagering, New York officials are also looking to legalize online casinos as a way of lifting revenues. Local lawmakers believe that iGaming could generate more than US$1 billion in revenue which would help the state fill the budget gaps projected to come in the next years. Without the vertical, the state is losing customers to neighbouring states.
