The return of NFL football has certainly brought back the betting volume for internet operators in New York. However, after a tremendous opening week, the eight digital sportsbooks were unable to replicate the success into the week ending on September 17, 2023. The latest reports find that bookmakers had a hold of 7.1% from the previous of 13.6%.
Governed by the New York State Gaming Commission, the Empire State’s legal sector for mobile sports wagers kicked off on January 8, 2022. Since then, it quickly climbed to the top of regulated jurisdictions in the U.S. It posted just over US$700 million from bets in tax revenue for the state in its first 12 months, which will go into education, youth sports, and tackling problem gaming.
Breaking Down Latest Weekly Report
According to the NYSGC for the week ending on September 17, 2023, operators posted gross gaming revenue of US$28.4 million. This was a sizeable downgrade from the previous week when sportsbooks recorded the second-highest weekly revenue of US$56.6 million since the launch of the internet market. It was a hefty 49.8% decrease in proceeds before tax.
These numbers in gross gaming revenue arrived from a total betting handle of US$400.5 million, which was a slight 3.7% decrease from the previous seven-day period. Moreover, these betting numbers came during the week that the New York Giants and the New York Jets did not win. However, the Buffalo Bills won by four touchdowns as a 7.5-point favourite.
In terms of operators’ performance, DraftKings led the pack with the largest betting handle of US$179.7 million but thanks to a hold of 7.2% managed to secure US$12.9 million in revenue. Approximately US$3.5 million less than the prior week. Meanwhile, its competitor, FanDuel was in second with US$139 million in volume and a hold of 7.8%.
FanDuel also recently invested big in its responsible play advocacy, as the sportsbook announced soccer star Carli Lloyd and PGA TOUR star Tom Kim have been signed for its Responsible Gaming Ambassador team. In addition to this, the company launched its new RG advertising campaign, “The System” which will air throughout the entire football season.
Next was Caesars Sportsbook with the company recording a total betting handle for the said week of US$38.9 million and a hold of just 4.9%. Meanwhile, BetMGM reported total wagering activity of US$23.7 million with a hold of 5.5%. However, the seven-day period was quite slow for PointsBet which only generated profits of US$101,742 from a US$5.3 million handle.
Changing Focus on Alberta
PointsBet which recently sold its U.S. division to Fanatics is now setting its sights on expansion into Alberta, Canada. The province saw the return of the United Conservative Party to power which started off rumours that the Western province could adopt an Ontario-like model for private operators. This would be some good news for the sports betting firm.
Source: Senkiw, Brad “Sports Betting in New York Sees Hold Plummet in Latest Weekly Figures” Covers, September 22, 2023
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