New York Sportsbooks Eclipse $200 Million In May Revenue
May Brought In The Big Bucks in The Empire State
New York became the first state since the repeal of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) to reach $200 million in monthly sportsbook operator revenue in two separate months, with its May 2024 total operator winnings of $203.8 million.
The New York May betting revenue didn’t break the all-time record New York set this past January of $211.7 million or Ohio’s $209.1 million from that state’s launch in January 2023, but it is comfortably the third-highest total in the post-PASPA period for any individual state in any given month.
Note that this figure is actual profit, as total handle (amount of money wagered) in New York in May was an astounding $1.98 billion.
The Empire State continues to stand out in the legal sports wagering space as a state where huge handle and operator profit numbers are routinely reported. This is particularly impressive for a month without NFL football or even college sports, and it bodes well for New York operators, who have made a killing in the state.
The handle was up over 45 percent compared to May 2023 and revenue was up by 33.5 percent. When the win rate for the sportsbooks is such a high 10.3%, combined with the huge handle, it makes sense that May 2024 was nearly a record-setting month.
This allowed New York State to collect over $103 million in tax revenue, owing to the state’s high tax rate on sportsbook operators.
2024 Has Been Incredible For NY Sportsbooks
It wasn’t just May: All of 2024 has been a goldmine for New York sportsbook operators. There has been almost $10 billion in handle this year alone as the New York May betting revenue is relatively par for the course with how this calendar year has gone.
Handle surged nearly 20 percent compared to the first five months of 2023. Profit also climbed nearly 24 percent. The hold/win rate increased to 9.3 percent, and tax collections rose to $448.8 million, marking an $85.8 million year-over-year increase.
New York continues to post gaudy numbers across the board as in-state bettors keep wagering large sums and the sportsbooks keep winning. The state’s total handle dwarfs that of every other state where sports betting is legal, and there appears to be no signs of things letting up.
Plus, as noted above, this is a relatively slow time for sports betting where the main sports are NBA and NHL playoffs and regular season MLB. These kinds of big totals mean that we could see New York set even more records come football season.
New York’s high tax rates on operators might have discouraged them from trying to attract New York bettors, but those concerns can be cast aside for now. The tax environment clearly isn’t stopping people from betting in the state.
Sure, New York may be unique for a variety of reasons but the state’s success could be a hint to other states that higher tax rates on operators may not be the worst thing ever.
DraftKings and FanDuel Cleaned Up
Unsurprisingly, DraftKings and FanDuel led the way in New York May betting revenue. DraftKings collected a whopping $812.3 million in handle and $84.2 million profit while FanDuel took in $747.5 million in handle and $88 million in profit.
However, FanDuel’s market share dipped to 37.9 percent, its lowest such figure since August 2023. That could be a sign of Fanatics Sportsbook’s rise as the successor to PointsBet in New York.
Fanatics is very, very far from truly competing with those huge names in the space but Michael Rubin’s company’s sportsbook posted a record-high profit for the second-straight month and collected almost $72 million in handle.
PointsBet’s handle skyrocketed by an enormous 276 percent compared to May 2023. That type of year-over-year improvement in New York gambling is surely good news for a newish market entrant trying to turn New York’s duopoly into a more evenly spread marketplace.
DraftKings and FanDuel don’t have much to worry about at this moment, especially with how profitable they were in May and likely will be going forward.
However, they will have to think about Fanatics soon because it appears to be a legitimate potential competitor in ways that Caesars, BetMGM, BetRivers, Resorts World, Bally and Wynn clearly are not. Fanatics made a big splash by taking over PointsBet’s license and it appears to be a risk that is working out so far.
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