New York Sportsbooks Set a Record With $2.4 Billion in Total Handle
The NFL Playoffs and College Football Playoffs proved to be a boon to New York sportsbooks. In January, New York sports betting produced record revenue.
$2.4 billion wagered on sports in January, a new record.
Key Facts:
- Revenue from sports betting rose 16.7% compared to the same month in 2024
- Sports betting operators reported a monthly hold of 9.96%
- FanDuel set the New York record with $965.1 million in total handle in January 2025
By every metric, sportsbooks in New York had a banner month in January. Total handle, which represents the total of all wagers placed in the state, was $2.48 billion, eclipsing the previous mark of $2.32 billion, established in October of 2024.
Revenue from sports betting was just over $240 million, which also set a New York record. The previous top revenue number was $231.6 million in November of 2024, which proved to be a fantastic year for NY mobile sports betting. January revenue eclipsed that prior record by a whopping 6.7%.
Most promising, perhaps, was the increase in total handle of 25.9% compared to January of 2024. In both cases, the keen interest in both professional and college football likely fueled the tremendous total of bets that poured into NY sports betting apps.
Who Are the Big Winners in New York?
Speaking of apps, FanDuel New York was supreme once again in January. The sports betting operator nearly reached $1 billion in total handle, coming in at $965.1 million. That represents nearly 39% of all bets accepted in the state in January.
The second-highest total handle was produced by DraftKings, at $$837.9 million. The next sportsbook by total handle was BetMGM at $194.8 million, followed by Fanatics at $194.1 million, and Caesars Sportsbook at $163.2 million for January 2025.
FanDuel flexed its muscles in efficiency in January: taking in a staggering $111.3 million in revenue based on an impressive and market-leading 11.5% hold. The hold indicates the percentage of bets wagered above even won by the operator. Any hold percentage of 8% and higher is generally considered acceptable.
Well, down the list of sports betting apps in New York was ESPN Bet, which is gaining ground in the sportsbook wars. In New York in Jan. of 2025, ESPN Bet, operated by PENN Entertainment, accepted $59.2 million in wagers. Unfortunately for PENN, the app only reported a hold of 4.0%.
New York launched sports betting in 2022 and has established itself as the biggest market in the United States. The state became the first to record $1 billion in revenue in a year and the first to top $2 billion, which it did in 2024. New York has now topped $60 billion in total handle since it launched sports betting in January of 2022.
Operating in New York is an expensive proposition for sportsbooks. The state maintains the highest tax rate of the 35 states with legal sports betting. Sportsbooks pay 51% of their adjusted gross gaming revenue to the state. So far, in about 36 full months, New York has gathered more than $2.5 billion in tax revenue from sports betting operators in the Empire State.
