New York is the undisputed leader in mobile sports betting handle and revenue but May 2024 proved to be among the best, trailing only January of this year as the highest-producing revenue month in its relatively brief but illustrious history.
Let’s take a closer look at the numbers and see how the top-rated sportsbooks have performed over the last months.
Start Spreading the News
The Empire State towers above all others in the sports betting industry and May proved just how fertile this soil truly is, as it became the first state to eclipse the $200 million revenue threshold twice in the post-PASPA era.
Certainly, the presence of the New York professional sports teams making deep postseason runs didn’t hurt the cause, as the Knicks took the Pacers to seven games in the NBA Conference semifinals, while the Rangers went six games with the Panthers in the NHL Conference Finals before being ousted. Let’s also consider the Yankees’ running amok over their opponents in May and hurdling up the top of the AL East standings.
That added up to New York sports fans betting fast and furious on those games, generating a $1.97 billion handle on a collective hold of 10.3%, which delivered $200.3 million in revenues in May. The state collected $104 million in taxes due to its highest-in-the-nation rate of 51 percent.
Business is booming in the Empire State as the metrics show everything is up compared to the first five months of 2023. Consider that the year-to-date handle is $9.55 billion, which is a 19.6% increase over the same time last year. Revenue has soared 23.7% from 2023 to $883.4 million while the state has collected $448.8 million already this year, a whopping $85.8 million more than the same time in 2023.
DraftKings Posts Personal Bests
DraftKings and its archrival, FanDuel, control 85% of New York’s lucrative sports betting market and both are constantly jockeying for the No. 1 spot. In May, DraftKings posted its highest monthly handle ever with $812.3 million in accepted wagers, besting all challengers including FanDuel. The Boston-based bookmaker also generated a personal record-setting revenue high of $84.2 million but still trailed FanDuel in that category due to a lower hold.
Speaking of FanDuel, the gaming titan may not have handled as many wagers but its hold was higher leading to greater revenue than DraftKings. The industry giant accepted $747.5 million worth of bets, which generated the highest revenue of all, a staggering $88 million due to its 11.8%-win rate.
Caesars finished a distant third with a $160.1 million handle, which delivered over $10 million in revenue on a 6.9% hold. BetMGM‘s $117.3 million handle brought it fourth on the podium but the results were rather sobering for the iconic Las Vegas brand, as it was the brand’s lowest handle of 2024. The hold was just under 7% bringing $8.2 million in revenue.
Fanatics Sportsbook set a personal revenue record for the second consecutive month with just over $7 million on a 9.8% hold of a $71.7 million handle. This was a stunning increase over last year when the brand was still in the PointsBet family and had just $19.1 million in action last May.
