December was the second-highest month in industry history for bets taken in New York as the Empire State’s sportsbooks continue to grow. They haven’t had it all their own way though as the NFL season is proving to be a successful one for bettors.
New Yorkers spent $2.28 billion on online sports betting in the final month of 2024. That was just short of the record $2.32 billion wagered in October. December 2024 represented a growth of 11.1% year on year.
Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) for the nine legal mobile sports betting operators was $150.4 million in December, over 20% less than the same month in 2023. The resultant hold rate of 6.6% was the lowest of the fiscal year so far, compared with a high of 11.1% achieved in July.
That downtrend in the amount New York’s sportsbooks have retained from wagers made after winnings were paid out is in part being attributed to favorable results for fans betting on football, especially through the leading NFL betting sites.
FanDuel owner, Flutter issued a warning a week into January 2025 to indicate a hit to revenue and profits due to the amount of NFL favorites winning games since the season started in September.
The group said it was seeing the effects of the highest number of favored NFL teams being successful in two decades and described the football season so far as the “most customer-friendly” since the widespread legalization of sports betting in the US.
Flutter illustrated this further saying 77% of favorites had won NFL games in the final three months of 2024. A majority of bettors clearly back favorites so increasingly the payout rate. It also said games have been higher scoring than expected. This has rewarded those who bet the over - often the most popular line on totals markets, partly as it’s the more ‘fun’ option for casual bettors.
It was hardly all bad news for Flutter in New York though as its FanDuel brand remains unstoppable. FanDuel achieved a handle of $925.6 million in December, its best-ever monthly result for dollars wagered. The figure meant FanDuel topped $9 billion in handle for the calendar year 2024. A GGR of $70.5 million was down over 30% in November for FanDuel though off a similar handle number.
By comparison, DraftKings achieved a handle of a little over $8 billion last year. It took bets worth $731.9 million in December with revenue at $46.5. DraftKings might be hoping for a boost with its new subscription service launched in January.
DraftKings+ is available to selected customers for $20 a month and offers boosted parlay pricing. As the New York State Gaming Commission recently concluded that the monthly fee won’t be classed as gambling revenue, the move has been seen as the latest attempt by DraftKings to offset the hit from New York’s high gambling tax rate (51%).
Fanatics Sportsbook continued in its quest to solidify a position as New York’s third-biggest online betting operator in December. A handle of $171.6 million resulted in revenue of $9.8 million. That was compared with higher bets taken for BetMGM in New York ($178.1 million) but with a slightly lower GGR than Fanatics of $9.6 million.
To illustrate how tight things are in the mid-ranking sportsbook mini-league, Caesars had a handle of $158.3 million in December and a revenue number of $8.9 million. A very slow decline for Caesars throughout 2024, but one that’s becoming noticeable, was illustrated by handle being down nearly 26% compared with the same month in 2023.
As for the rest of New York’s nine legal sportsbooks, ESPN Bet achieved its highest handle since officially launching in September with $48.7 million and a GGR of $1.3 million.
BetRivers remained ahead of the Penn Entertainment, broadcaster-branded, provider though with a better-than-average hold rate of 6.3%. Bet Rivers achieved revenue of $2.9 million from $46.4 million in bets taken. It may be making slow progress but the recently launched ESPN Bet remains one to watch for 2025.
To complete the picture, BallyBet’s revenue of just over $550,000 came off a handle of $13.2 million. Resorts World Bet took 6.8 million in bets and retained $462,444 in revenue. BallyBet looks like sticking around having expanded into Tennessee last fall while Resorts World still has its sights on a new casino license in New York.
All of that means that New York had its best-ever calendar year in 2024 with total bets made of £22.7 billion, an increase of 18.4% on the $19.1 billion bet the year before. Total tax returns to the state from online sports betting were above $1 billion.
As for 2025, it will be notable to monitor whether New York’s betting industry has now topped out. Online casinos could be the next big revenue generator for the gambling companies though if legislation finally comes to pass.