A sports bettor wagered $119 million online in New York during the week ending Aug. 17, spiking Fanatics Sportsbook to a handle nearly three times higher than its previous weekly record, a New York State Gaming Commission spokesperson confirmed to Covers on Friday.
Key Takeaways
- Fanatics Sportsbook took the brunt of the big betting individual, winning back just 1.8% of the total amount wagered there for the week.
- The major bettor drove New York’s handle to above $400 million for the first time in over two months.
- FanDuel enjoyed a profitable week thanks to a 12% hold on a $117-million handle.
Fanatics generated $147.3 million in wagers, a massive increase from the $32.9 million bet there during the prior week. The high-stakes betting didn’t go well, as Fanatics won back 1.8% of the amount wagered, resulting in just $2.7 million in gross revenue.
The commission didn’t specify which sports or which other operators took serious action from the major bettor, but that individual helped push New York’s handle to $458.2 million during the week ending Aug. 17, a 44.7% week-over-week increase.
Holding back
There wasn’t a big difference in sports volume week-over week, as MLB and NFL preseason are the primary sources of action right now. Still, the big wagering led to a first handle reaching $400 million in nine weeks and the highest since the last week of May.
The eight online operators combined for a 7.3% hold, held back by Fanatics’ low win rate. It’s just the third time in 13 weeks that the hold fell below 10%. Total gross revenue reached $33.3 million, $1.6 million less than the previous week and the lowest in roughly a month.
Profits surpassed $30 million for the 17th consecutive week, but revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same week in 2024.
FanDuel wins at high rate
DraftKings had the second-highest handle during the week ending Aug. 17, generating $122.4 million in wagers. FanDuel wasn’t far behind with $117.3 million, and the top two online sportsbooks in New York combined to account for a little more than half of the state’s handle.
That percentage is typically in the 60s or 70s, and neither DraftKings nor FanDuel generated fewer week-over-week wagers, illustrating the Fanatics bettor's impact on the market’s status quo.
FanDuel had the better hold in the rivalry for the week, producing a 12.1% win rate to generate $14.2 million in gross revenue, about $600,000 more than the previous week. The online operator has gone over $13 million in weekly revenue in 16 of the last 17 periods. DraftKings turned in an 8.8% hold into $10.8 million, keeping it at around $10 million for the fourth consecutive week.
Rest of the field
BetMGM accepted $26.6 million in wagers for the week and hauled in $2.5 million in revenue, matching the previous week’s total. Caesars was close in handle with $24.3 million in bets, but a 7.4% hold led to $1.8 million in revenue, which also matched the previous week.
BetRivers pulled ahead of ESPN BET for the week, ending with a $9.1-million handle. ESPN BET generated $8.9 million in wagers and only produced $356,810 from a 4% hold, more than half of BetRivers’ win rate. Bally Bet generated a 5.8% hold off a $2.3-million handle to make less week-over-week revenue.
