Strong End to Football Season Industry

Strong End to Football Season for New York Sportsbooks

By Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer Updated: 20 March 2024

Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer

Amelia Walker is a Senior Content Writer at Betting.US. She has a law degree and deep knowledge of the gambling laws in the United States. Her mission is to keep players informed about responsible gambling, while her passion for sports helps her create useful guides. Amelia has over a decade of experience in betting, which has positioned her as a trusted voice among our readers.

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It has been revealed that New York enjoyed a very successful end to the recent football season. Recently released data shows that online sports betting in New York soared to new heights in February, with sportsbooks across the state recording a staggering $1.77 billion in accepted bets. The data comes from figures released by the New York State Gaming Commission.

This impressive figure marks a huge 20.8 percent increase from February 2023, representing the highest sports betting handle for the month of February since sports betting began in the state at the beginning of 2022. In addition to this milestone achievement, New York’s sportsbooks generated a total gross gaming revenue of $131.4 million, which equated to over $67 million in state tax revenue.

February Handle Better Than September

February’s handle does not mark the highest in New York’s history or even in 2024, as January saw a slightly higher total of over $1.9 billion. However, officials said that February’s performance was still excellent, particularly considering the NFL season ended after the Super Bowl was played.

The Super Bowl in February had a big impact on betting activity in the state. It was also pointed out that February’s handle passed that of September, which is traditionally a peak period for betting activity because of the NFL season kickoff and college football getting underway.

According to PlayUSA:

Even with the Super Bowl taking place early in February, the month’s betting handle totals surpassed that of September, when the NFL season kicked off and with college football in full swing, a time when bettors get their fix after months of anticipation and build-up to the football season.

Analysis of handle and revenue figures in New York since 2022 reflects how impressive February’s figures are in comparison. Data shows that in 2024 the state benefited from $1.77 billion handle and $131.43 million in revenue.

In 2023 these figures came in at $1.47 billion handle and $108.28 million revenue. During the first year of sports betting in 2022, the figures were $1.53 billion handle and $82.39 million in revenue.

February also marked the seventh consecutive month where New York sportsbooks surpassed the $1 billion mark in terms of handle. This included six months of exceeding $1.7 billion, with three months exceeding $2 billion.

A Breakdown of Performance in New York State

The figures show that FanDuel led the way in February with an impressive $720.1 million in handle, although this ended its four-month streak of exceeding $800 million in bets. DraftKings followed closely behind with $697.9 million in accepted bets.

Caesars Sportsbook experienced a decline, with revenue hitting its lowest point since June 2022 at $6.7 million. BetMGM Sportsbook NY recorded its highest monthly total since April 2022 with $129.7 million in bets, although its revenue dropped to $580,224, which was the lowest since its launch.

Bally Bet celebrated its best-ever performance in New York, raking in $9.7 million in handle and $724,041 in revenue, which reflects its consistent growth over the past four months.