All four major professional sports – MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL – coinciding in the same week produced the second-highest weekly handle in New York legal sports betting history.
The Empire State’s eight online sportsbooks combined to take in $527.4 million, with FanDuel accounting for a state-record $474.4 million handle for the week ending Oct. 29, according to figures released by the New York Gaming Commission.
Throw in college football and other sports, it’s no surprise as New York has been trending with handle increases in each of the last three weeks with football in full swing and other sports getting going.
Bettors battle back
However, operators didn’t make out huge, as bettors held their own to the tune of a 5.5% hold for sportsbooks. That produced revenue of $28.8 million, which was down 28% from the previous week.
That ended the operators’ streak of three consecutive weeks of profits over $30 million. They weren’t able to capitalize on the start of the NBA season and World Series.
The New York Giants and New York Jets playing each other likely played a role in the increased wagering. The favored Jets won a low-scoring, offensively sloppy showdown in overtime by a field goal. The line fluctuated between 3 and 3.5 for much of the week, so many bettors likely pushed, causing some of the disparity in handle vs. revenue.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google accountOperators didn’t make out huge, as bettors held their own to the tune of a 5.5% hold for sportsbooks. That produced revenue of $28.8 million, which was down 28% from the previous week.
FanDuel, DraftKings struggle
The weekly handle rose 13% week-over-week as FanDuel took in more than $75 million more in wagers during the latest period.
The combined win rate for all New York operators fell more than 3 points as FanDuel’s weekly hold was cut in half; a double-digit win rate fell to 4.8%.
That produced revenue of $13.3 million, FanDuel’s lowest output since $12.6 million during the week of Oct. 8.
DraftKings had similar results despite a much lower handle. The rival sportsbook took in $147.6 million in wagers. A slightly higher hold of 6% produced revenue of $8.9 million, marking the first week under $10 million of profit since taking a revenue loss in the week ending Sept. 3.
BetRivers shines
The rest of New York’s online sports betting operators were a mixed bag.
Caesars had the third-best handle in New York for the week at $47 million, but profit was hampered by a 2.8% hold. BetMGM generated a $25.5 million handle, its highest since early May. However, its hold fell below 5%.
BetRivers saw its handle of $21 million drop by half, but thanks to an 18% win rate, it turned a profit of $3.9 million, way better than the $1.6 million loss suffered in the previous week.
PointsBet was the only operator to report a revenue loss (-$121,000) for the week.
