New York the Latest State to Report Month-Over Month Sports Betting Decline

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 19: The Empire State Building is lit up in purple to celebrate the launch of the International Paralympic Committee’s WeThe15 campaign on August 19, 2021 in New York City. Noam Galai/Getty Images for International Paralympic Committee/AFP

The legal sports betting numbers for February are continuing to be reported by participating U.S. states, revealing an unfavorable trend that is beginning to emerge.

New York, the top performing state in the American market, has officially been added to the list of jurisdictions that have experienced both month-over-month and year-over-year declines in sports betting for February.

On Tuesday, the New York State Gaming Commission revealed its February sports betting figures. Despite the added boost from Super Bowl betting for almost two weeks, the state experienced a decrease in both total sports betting handle and revenue.

However, despite this, February marked the fifth consecutive month that New York sports betting operators exceeded $1.4 billion in handle, and the sixth straight month that sports betting sites in the Empire State generated over $100 million in revenue.

A peek at NY’s February sports betting figures

In February, the New York State Gaming Commission announced a sports betting handle of $1.47 billion, setting a new record in any other legal sports betting state in the U.S. However, this figure was a 17.9% decrease from the previous month’s record of $1.799 billion in January, leading to disappointment in New York.

Betting activity in the state decreased compared to the previous year, with New York betting sites generating $1.54 billion in February 2022, which was 3.9% higher than the amount collected in February 2023.

Revenues fell, as well

In February, the New York legal sports betting industry experienced a decrease in revenues. Despite still reaching $100 million in profits for the sixth consecutive month, sportsbooks in the Empire State saw a significant 27.5% drop from the record $149.9 million in January to $108.47 million in February. This marked the lowest legal sports betting revenue total for the state since August.

On a year-over-year basis, there was a notable difference. The $108.47 million generated was 31.4% higher than the $82.4 million from the previous year in sportsbook revenue.

Tax contributions also decreased month-over-month, with New York state collecting $55.2 million in February compared to $76.3 million in January. This was an improvement from the $41.6 million collected in February 2022.

FanDuel continues to rule

Unsurprisingly, FanDuel emerged as the top-performing sportsbook in New York for the month of February.

For the fourth consecutive month in New York, FanDuel held over 40% of the market share and contributed $591 million out of the total $1.47 billion in February. Despite this impressive figure, FanDuel only earned $764,000 due to a lackluster 9.1% hold rate over the course of 28 days.

In February, DraftKings New York came in second place in terms of betting activity, with a total of $491.3 million in bets, giving them a 31% market share.

Caesars underscoreg ranked third with a handle of $192.8 million, while BetMGM followed in fourth place with $107.7 million in bets. BetRivers came next, followed by PointsBet, Resorts World, WynnBET, and Bally Bet.

In a somewhat unexpected turn of events, February marked the lowest performance in the past six months for the top legal sports betting jurisdiction in the nation. The Super Bowl betting turnout was underwhelming, and successful bettors managed to diminish sportsbook profits.

Despite facing many challenges in February, New York sportsbooks still managed to outperform other jurisdictions in the U.S.

March Madness should bring some excitement to the month, just like it did last year. However, after that, we can expect the usual slowdown in legal sports betting during the spring and summer months.

Written By:
Perry Sandra

Perry Sandra and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by “odds”. Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn’t found a sport yet that can’t contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.