Sports betting sites in the Empire State are seeing a growing amount of action thus far in March, presumably as college basketball-related madness has set in with New York-based punters.
Numbers reported Thursday by the New York State Gaming Commission show the state's nine online sportsbooks handled $442.7 million in bets during the week ended March 12, up from $410.8 million the week before.
Gross gaming revenue generated by the mobile end of New York sports betting was $40.4 million last week, up from $25.8 million from the preceding week and good for a hold of 9.1%. The sportsbook win rate for the week ended March 5 was 6.3%.
The madness begins
FanDuel led all operators in handle for the week ended March 12, as the New York-based bookmaker took $185 million in bets in the Empire State and turned it into $20.9 million in revenue. DraftKings finished second with $147.8 million in handle for the week and $11.7 million in revenue.
Given that handle is hitting levels normally seen during the NFL season and playoffs, as well as last March, it's probably safe to assume some of the uptick in weekly action in New York is due to March Madness. The men's college basketball tournament has begun and is expected to draw more than $15 billion in total wagering in the U.S., according to the American Gaming Association.
Online sportsbooks in New York also garnered about $1.47 billion in wagers during February, the NYSGC's numbers show, and operators generated $108.3 million in gross gaming revenue from that handle. The gaming revenue translated into $55.2 million in tax revenue for the state, which collects 51% of receipts earned by operators.
