The most lucrative sports betting state in the U.S. set a new monthly online sports betting handle record in October.
Key Takeaways
- New York’s October sports betting handle bested January 2025 for the highest of all time in the lucrative market.
- Wagering rose 13%, while revenue spiked 35%.
- FanDuel became the first operator in New York’s sports betting history to eclipse $1 billion in wagers in a single month.
The New York Gaming Commission reported on Thursday that $2.64 billion was wagered during a month that featured the NFL, college football, the MLB playoffs, and the start of both the NHL and NBA regular seasons.
The sports convergence led to a handle that surpassed the previous record set in January 2025 by more than $150 million, and one of October’s later weeks produced the highest handle ever at the time.
Betting was up 13.3% compared to October 2024, and the handle spiked 15.4% month-over-month. FanDuel became the first New York sports betting mobile operator to reach $1 billion in wagers in a single month.
Big profits
New York’s eight online sportsbooks combined to generate $238.7 million in gross revenue, a 35.3% year-over-year increase. October is the third-most profitable month since online wagering began in January 2022, and it’s only the fourth month to ever surpass $230 million in gross revenue.
Sportsbooks finished October with a solid 9% hold, up from 7.6% produced during the same month in 2024. It’s the fifth win rate in 2025 to fall below 10%, but October’s hold was higher than August and September.
The Empire State hauled in a whopping $121.7 million in tax revenue from the 51% rate on operators.
More records fall
| Online Operator | October Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $1 billion | $100.6 million |
| DraftKings | $938 million | $82.9 million |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $205.6 million | $18.7 million |
| BetMGM | $187.5 million | $14.4 million |
| Caesars | $175.8 million | $13.2 million |
FanDuel and DraftKings were a huge reason for New York’s record-setting handle. Not only did FanDuel reach $1 billion in wagers, but DraftKings wasn’t far behind its competitor in October with a $938-million handle, surpassing the mark in March for the biggest month ever at the online sportsbook.
Thanks to a 10% hold, FanDuel led all operators with gross revenue of $100.6 million, reaching nine figures for the fifth time in New York. DraftKings won back 8.8% of all money bet in October to produce $82.9 million in gross revenue, its largest profit haul since May.
Fanatics Sportsbook came in third with a handle of $205.6 million, which was down over $13 million from September’s wagers, and won back 9.1%. BetMGM’s $187.5-million handle was nearly $12 million more than fifth-place Caesars. Both finished with similar holds below 8%.
ESPN BET set its new Empire State handle high with $60.3 million in wagers. The PENN Entertainment platform is switching to theScore in December after Thursday’s announcement that the gaming operator has ended its partnership with ESPN.
Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers finished seventh with a handle of $53 million, but produced $4.3 million in gross revenue, $1 million more than ESPN BET. Bally Bet generated $16.6 million in wagers, its New York high, and went over $1 million in profits for just the second month in 2025.
Best week ever
The week ending Nov. 2 generated the most weekly wagers ever in New York for the second consecutive period. Empire State bettors spent $661.6 million at sportsbooks – nearly $6 million ahead of the previous week’s record high handle – during a week highlighted by five World Series games and Week 9 of the NFL season.
Online operators produced $75.9 million in gross revenue, also the best week of profits in New York. FanDuel accounted for nearly 45% of the Empire State’s weekly revenue from its $258.4-million handle, reaching $33.7-million behind a 13% hold and surpassing $30 million in profits for the fourth week in 2025. DraftKings’ gross revenue spiked 67% week-over-week to $25.8 million from a $236.3-million handle.
Fanatics Sportsbook and BetMGM were the only other online operators to produce a double-digit hold for the week ending Nov. 2.
