Behind a slew of NFL upsets, Empire State sportsbooks returned to their winning ways during Christmas week.
Key Takeaways
- New York’s latest online sports betting revenue increased 71% from the previous week.
- The Christmas Week handle was up nearly 4% from 2024.
- FanDuel and DraftKings experienced large win rates for the week.
After producing a 6.2% hold during the previous week, which generated the lowest gross revenue periods in two months, the New York Gaming Commission reported a profit haul of $63.3 million during the week ending Dec. 28, a 71% week-over-week spike.
It looked much more like the stretch the eight online New York sports betting sites produced in November and early December. Operators have won at least $50 million in seven of the last nine weeks.
An 11.7% hold was achieved on a $538.6-million Christmas week handle, which was down 8.5% from the previous period. Still, wagering was up 3.6% from Christmas 2024.
The NFL’s Week 17 was a big one for underdogs, who all covered the three Christmas Day standalone games and two more on Saturday.
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Back on the profit train
As usual, FanDuel and DraftKings were at the center of the increased revenue week, accounting for 77% of New York’s weekly operator profit.
Both online sportsbooks experienced significant week-over-week handle drops, but FanDuel’s massive 15.2% hold on a $190.8-million handle landed the operator more than $29 million for the holiday week, $15 million more in gross revenue than the previous period.
DraftKings won back 11% of a $179.3-million handle, which was down more than $20 million from the previous week. The online operator made $5 million more than the previous week and has hauled in at least $15 million in nine of the last 10 weeks.
High holds hard to come by
FanDuel and DraftKings were also mostly responsible for New York’s high win rates during Christmas week. Fanatics produced a nice 12% hold on a $43.9-million handle, taking home $5.3 million for the week. Caesars also won 11% on a $33.4-million handle, but no other operators reached double digits.
BetMGM has seen a big increase in business lately as it generated its third $60-million handle over the last four weeks. After taking a loss the week before Christmas, the online operator only made back 5.6% on the latest week’s wagers.
Bally Bet came the closest to reaching a 10% hold on a $3.4-million handle. BetRivers won back 7.2% on $11.3 million, while theScore Bet generated just $565,000 from a $9-million handle.
