The New York State Gaming Commission reported close to $2.3 billion in sports betting handle for September on Friday, the fourth-highest monthly wagering amount in both state history and nationally in the post-PASPA era.
The Empire State has a stranglehold on $2 billion monthly handles, recording all 13 instances spanning the seven-plus years wagering has been available outside Nevada. September’s handle was up 10.3% from last year as New York also continues to distance itself as a runaway leader in all-time handle.
The most recent monthly figure pushed all-time wagering above $75 billion, with $76.57 billion of the $77.24 billion handle originating from mobile sportsbooks dating to New York’s digital launch in January 2022.
Operators claimed $194.7 million in revenue, ranking ninth in state annals, but that was down 5.5% from last year. The collective 8.5% hold attained from New York’s eight mobile books and three retail ones was more than 1.4 percentage points lower compared to September 2024. Mobile books had a rough go in the opening week of the NFL season as they were held to a 5.4% win rate on $527.6 million worth of wagers from Sept. 1-7.
The state collected $98.9 million in tax revenue, lifting the Fiscal Year 2026 total to just shy of $600 million for the first six months. While the average monthly receipts put the state on pace to match the $1.2 billion projected in the state budget, fiscal year-to-date tax revenue is up $94 million versus FY 2025.
Week 1 NFL skews monthly revenue downward
For the first time since March, no operator posted a double-digit hold for the month. That ended streaks of five months for FanDuel, four months for DraftKings, and three months for BetMGM.
Fanatics was the only book to emerge relatively unscathed from Week 1 NFL action from Sept. 1-7 with an 11.4% hold. Conversely, DraftKings had a 1.1% win rate, resulting in just $2.2 million in revenue from $205.3 million worth of wagers.
FanDuel, however, nearly maintained its status quo and came the closest to a double-digit hold at 9.8%. That led to $77.6 million in revenue — down 20.7% from last year — from $790.2 million handle, and its market share rebounded from 27.5% in August to 34.5% in September.
DraftKings paced all mobile books in handle at $870.6 million, which represented 38.1% of the $2.29 billion wagered online. It was a comfortable second in winnings at $66.7 million but, like its eternal rival, that figure represented a year-over-year decline at 4.3%.
Without the “whale” making its presence, Fanatics’ share of monthly handle regressed to its typical mark of near 10%, though the $219 million worth of bets accepted was up 53% versus September 2024. In bucking the trend with a strong 9.3% win rate, Fanatics’ accounted for more than 10% of the state’s mobile monthly revenue for the first time with $20.5 million in winnings.
ESPN Bet still struggling to gain traction
ESPN Bet, which entered the fall in what could be labeled a make-or-break stretch with partners Penn Entertainment, claimed just 2.1% of market share with $47.1 million handle. ESPN Bet’s first sub-8% hold in four months at 5.9% did not help matters either as the $2.8 million in revenue beat out only BallyBet.
September also completed ESPN Bet’s first 12 full months of operation in the nation’s largest market, but the numbers are not encouraging. The $560.1 million handle represents only 2.3% of the $24.8 billion in digital wagering in that span, and its 7.1% win rate is eight-tenths of a percentage point lower than the collective 7.9% hold for other operators.
Caesars fended off BetMGM for fourth in both revenue ($10.9 million) and handle ($152 million). The two were separated by $25,486 in revenue for the month, with BetMGM having the slightly better hold at 7.3% compared to 7.2% for Caesars.
BetRivers totaled $3.6 million in revenue, crafting a 7.8% win rate from $45.9 million handle. That allowed the Rush Street Interactive platform to clear $2 billion in all-time handle in New York.
