For the second straight May, the New York Knicks’ loss resulted in sportsbooks’ gains as the New York State Gaming Commission reported a monthly United States-record $249.3 million in adjusted gross revenue Friday.
The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1999, losing their best-of-7 series to the Indiana Pacers in six games after a 125-108 defeat May 31. That resulted in a swell of futures tickets being graded at the end of the month, with the Knicks’ elimination benefitting the state’s nine mobile sportsbooks and four commercial retail ones.
| State | Month | Revenue |
| NEW YORK | MAY 2025 | $249,312,914 |
| New York | January 2025 | $248,001,821 |
| New York | November 2024 | $232,209,892 |
| New York | January 2024 | $211,706,706 |
| Ohio | January 2023 | $209,037,382 |
| New York | September 2024 | $206,067,210 |
| New York | May 2024 | $203,760,343 |
| New York | April 2025 | $192,616,927 |
| New York | December 2023 | $189,287,146 |
| New York | February 2025 | $184,512,126 |
The $249.3 million in operator revenue furthered the record set in January at $248 million. Winnings were up 22.4% from last year as the house crafted an 11.3% hold against $2.22 billion handle. New York has 19 of the 22 all-time U.S. monthly revenue totals above $150 million in the post-PASPA era.
May’s record haul also added another all-time first for the Empire State as sportsbooks crossed $6 billion in all-time winnings dating to the launch of retail wagering in July 2019. Operators have already crossed $1 billion in winnings for 2025, with revenue up 17.3% compared to the first five months of 2024.
The state collected $127 million in tax receipts, pushing the year-to-date total to $551.2 million and the overall total above $3 billion thanks to the 51% levy on mobile sportsbooks. Tax revenue for the state is currently running $102.4 million ahead of last year’s pace.
FanDuel continues its May maulings
May has historically been a banner month for FanDuel in the Empire State, and this year continued to be no exception. In addition to year-over-year revenue surging 23.7%, the $108.8 million in winnings is FanDuel’s third-highest in state history behind the $111.3 million reported in January and the $109.2 million claimed in January 2024.
| Year | FanDuel Handle | FanDuel Revenue | FanDuel Hold |
| 2022 | $552,644,796 | $63,897,378 | 11.56% |
| 2023 | $561,434,021 | $75,997,094 | 13.54% |
| 2024 | $747,547,095 | $88,013,044 | 11.77% |
| 2025 | $803,088,415 | $108,849,534 | 13.55% |
| MAY TOTALS | $2,664,714,327 | $336,757,050 | 12.64% |
The 13.55% win rate is FanDuel’s all-time high in 41 months of taking bets in New York, and May marked the tenth time in the last 17 months it posted a hold of at least 11%.
FanDuel was not alone in a hammering of the public for May as eternal rival DraftKings posted its second-best revenue haul at $84.2 million. That was $23,657 off its all-time high set last May, and the third time it surpassed $80 million in monthly winnings.
DraftKings also joined FanDuel as the only mobile sportsbooks in New York to remit more than $1 billion in tax payments as its $42.9 million bill for the month pushed its overall total to nearly $1.01 billion. DraftKings had a handle of $785 million for May, down 3.4% from last year, while its hold inched more than one-third of a percentage point higher to 10.7%.
Fanatics did set an all-time high for monthly revenue with nearly $18 million on the strength of a 9.4% hold from $190.6 million worth of wagers. Revenue more than doubled compared to last year while the 8.6% market share for mobile handle, $190.6 million, was an all-time monthly high.
Bally’s was the only mobile sportsbook to fail to attain at least an 8% hold, with FanDuel leading the way at 13.6% followed by DraftKings at 10.7%. Fanatics (9.4%), BetMGM (9.1%), and Caesars (9.1%) all topped 9% for the month, combining for $46.4 million in revenue.
