After somehow exceeding sky-high expectations during the state’s first year withNew York sports betting participants did for an encore in 2023 was place some $3 billion more worth of bets.
The New York State Gaming Commission put a bow on the 2023 sports wagering numbers with Monday’s release of retail betting figures from its four commercial sportsbooks, and total handle for the year came out just shy of $19.2 billion. The $11.8 million worth of accepted retail wagers in December and $987,000-plus in operator revenues were solid figures for the brick-and-mortar venues to close out 2023, but both numbers left the retail books slightly off totals for 2022.
Not that the $2.2 million dip in retail handle for the year and $572,000 decline in operator winnings matter much in the big picture for the Empire State.
The overall revenue increase thanks to New York’s nine mobile books outpaced the increase in handle, with the $1.7 billion in revenue up 24.2% compared to 2022 thanks to an 8.8% hold that was up almost one-half percentage point.
To put New York sportsbook revenue in perspective for the year, only four states — all-time sports betting revenue since state-by-state wagering became available in 2018.
The $96.1 million in total tax revenue for December in New York — a national record for any month — lifted the full-year total to $862.6 million. That was an increase of $168.7 million from 2022 and nearly 75% higher than former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $500 million annual estimate when he began the push to legalize mobile betting in New York.
An unprecedented fourth-quarter flourish 1l1a48
The nine mobile sportsbooks December as the $6.2 billion in total accepted wagers for the final quarter ed for 32.3% of the full-year handle.
FanDuel constantly rewrote New York’s record book for handle and revenue throughout 2023. The digital leviathan was the first mobile operator to reach $700 million in monthly handle in January, and pushed further to clear $800 million in October and $900 million in November.
Its $7.8 billion in accepted wagers was up 19.4% compared to 2022 as it slightly expanded its market share from 40.3% to 40.8%. FanDuel’s revenue surged 25.3% in 2023 versus the previous year to $815.1 million as it posted holds of 10% or better in nine of 12 months in landing at a win rate of 10.5% for the entire year.
FanDuel with a $32.3 million haul to open the NFL season for the week ending Sept. 10.
| Mobile Operator | 2023 Handle | 2023 Market Share | 2022 Handle | 2022 Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $7,791,762,623 | 40.79% | $6,524,249,210 | 40.29% |
| Bally Bet | $21,449,684 | 0.11% | $5,795,749 | 0.04% |
| BetMGM | $1,238,671,699 | 6.48% | $1,342,681,516 | 8.29% |
| DraftKings | $6,806,092,435 | 35.63% | $4,528,325,442 | 27.97% |
| Caesars | $2,132,356,437 | 11.16% | $2,797,508,953 | 17.28% |
| WynnBET | $114,758,595 | 0.60% | $92,928,999 | 0.57% |
| PointsBet (Fanatics) | $310,742,062 | 1.63% | $431,568,735 | 2.67% |
| Resorts World | $72,195,152 | 0.38% | $57,545,420 | 0.36% |
| BetRivers | $615,492,892 | 3.22% | $411,958,362 | 2.54% |
| TOTALS | $19,103,521,579 | $16,192,562,386 |
While New York’s mobile betting scene mirrors college football with the “Big 4” and the “Group of 5,” DraftKings served notice it will do everything possible to keep within reach of FanDuel to further stratify the first group. It led the group of nine in monthly handle at points during the summer while increasing handle 50.3% year-over-year to $6.8 billion.
The $2.8 billion in additional wagers accepted led to its market share vaulting from 28% to 35.6%. Though its monthly revenue was not on scale with FanDuel, DraftKings still had plenty to feel good about in 2023 as it ended the year with a company-record $65.2 million in revenue for December and up 61.2% for the year to $571.8 million.
| Mobile Operator | 2023 Revenue | 2022 Revenue | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $815,119,507 | $650,549,971 | 25.3% |
| Bally Bet | $561,571 | $337,825 | 66.2% |
| Bet MGM | $92,086,795 | $80,990,697 | 13.7% |
| DraftKings | $571,792,612 | $354,635,184 | 61.2% |
| Caesars | $145,049,718 | $214,643,746 | (32.4%) |
| WynnBET | $4,065,857 | $6,226,850 | (34.7%) |
| PointsBet (Fanatics) | $20,740,270 | $25,747,262 | (19.4%) |
| Resorts World | $4,548,072 | $2,963,071 | 53.5% |
| BetRivers | $35,919,400 | $22,972,765 | 56.4% |
| TOTALS | $1,689,883,802 | $1,359,067,101 | 24.3% |
While FanDuel and DraftKings showed growth, did with gusto to launch in New York.
Its combined $774.2 million handle the final four months of 2023 was essentially flat compared to 2022, but its monthly market share during that span dipped below 10% for the first time in the Empire State. Despite that decline, the gap between Caesars and BetMGM still remains fairly wide as the latter also experienced a downturn in year-over-year handle.
BetMGM accepted $1.24 billion in wagers in 2023, down 8.4% compared to 2022. But its year-over-year hold ticked 1.4 percentage points higher, and the $92.1 million in revenue represented a 14.6% increase. BetMGM did not set any monthly record handles in 2023 but was steady, topping $120 million five times — one more than 2022.
BetRivers raises stakes and charges ahead 4s1l6e
For all the talk BetRivers went under the radar in solidifying itself as the No. 5 book in the Empire State when it came to handle. While 3.2% of the mobile market share for 2023 does not sound like much on paper, BetRivers’ year-over-year handle was up 49.4% to $615.5 million as it became the fifth operator to sur $1 billion all-time handle in the state.
It is hard to pinpoint what has fueled BetRivers’ surge, but its $114.2 million handle in October was arguably the biggest anomaly in any 2023 betting number in New York. That figure was 18.5% of its full-year handle and $37.6 million higher than its second-best month in the Empire State.
Though the New York State Gaming Commission does not provide handle by sport category, other states that do provide such breakouts — namely Illinois — have shown BetRivers with increased action via parlays. How much that translates to the Empire State is unknown, but the boost in handle meant revenue spiked 56.4% compared to 2022, to $35.9 million.
Mobile #SportsBetting December numbers🧵for #NewYork via @NYSGamingComm. Han/Rev/WR by operator (9/9)@BetRivers $50.72M/$3.09M/6.09%
2023: $615.49M/$35.92M/5.84%
Total: $1.03B/$58.89M/5.73%11/x #SportsBettingX #GamblingX
— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) January 5, 2024
Fanatics Sportsbook has to possibly reclaim some momentum for 2024.
That could take on more importance if WynnBET, which pulled out of all but four states, decides New York is no longer worth the hassle to continue operations. It did post a record monthly handle of $12.3 million in October but also became the only mobile book in New York to post back-to-back monthly losses in closing out 2023.
Will ESPN BET enter the New York market in 2024 by acquiring the WynnBET license? @MattRybaltowski says, "If Wynn wants to charge somewhere around $100 million for that license fee, talks could get pretty contentious there," and discussion ensues on the latest ep of #GambleOn. https://t.co/iCmjasvLSy pic.twitter.com/pt3K1KfUqI
— US Bets (@US_Bets) January 5, 2024
To put WynnBET’s $4.1 million in 2023 revenue in some perspective, consider FanDuel’s worst weekly revenue for the year was $4.9 million for the week ending July 30. WynnBET’s 3.5% hold in 2023 was second-lowest among the nine mobile operators, ahead of only Bally Bet (2.6%), and Bally Bet shuttered operations for four months to migrate its betting platform to Kambi.
WynnBET’s late swoon led to some upheaval in the hierarchy in December as Resorts World finished seventh in handle for the first time with all nine operators in action with an all-time high of $10.4 million. The first eight-digit handle for the mobile book did not lead to a first seven-digit revenue haul, but Resorts World did post a 53.5% increase in year-over-year revenue to $4.5 million.
It is still too early to judgment on Bally Bet‘s overhaul, though the revamp has brought more bettors into the fold. The combined $10.9 million handle in November and December following its relaunch is more than 50% of its total $21.4 million in New York, but bettors have come out a combined $18,270 ahead following a tough December in which the public won $252,433 on top of the $6.6 million wagered.
Small declines for 2023 retail scene 2p2z14
In-person wagering in 2023 was again less than half the pre-mobile total of $193.9 million in 2021, but the $93.3 million in accepted bets was down only 2.3% compared to 2022. The 7.9% hold was down four-tenths of a percentage point, contributing to a 7.2% decline in revenue to $7.4 million.
Resorts World was the only in-person sportsbook to have year-over-year increases in handle and revenue; handle was up 32.3% to $19 million, while revenue climbed 10.3% to barely over $1 million as the win rate plunged more than a full percentage point to 5.3%.
Del Lago Resort was the only other brick-and-mortar to post a gain in revenue, as its $2.4 million in winnings was up 8.6% compared to 2022. Rivers paced the quartet in handle and revenue with $42.1 million and $3.6 million, respectively, and was the only brick-and-mortar sportsbook not to have a monthly loss anytime in 2023.
