New York Scores a Record Smashing $19.64B Sports Betting Handle in FY23

The sky is clearly not the limit for the Empire State, seeing its consistency in shattering records since it debuted online sports wagering. The state recorded a staggering $19.64 billion in wagers placed over the last financial year (2023), representing a substantial leap of 19.8% compared to 2022’s figures. Since the state debuted its online sports wagering scene in 2022, the Empire State has moved from one high to the next, claiming the throne of the country’s best-performing online sports wagering market.

The total wagers recorded over 12 months by New York represent the highest yearly online sports betting spend of any regulated market in the USA. According to last year’s financials, the record-breaking spree did not stop there. The gross gaming revenue was also up 20.6% year-on-year, marking a significant rise from the previous year’s reported figures.

FanDuel and DraftKings remain the Industry Leaders

Although the New York gaming industry is one of the most competitive in the country, two names have emerged on the leaderboard since online sports wagering was introduced to the state. Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel stood head and shoulders above all the other gaming operators in the state. In the financial year 2023, FanDuel recorded a staggering $8.10 billion wagers placed through its platform. This, alongside a $848.5 million revenue figure, showcased the operator’s dominance over the 2023 fiscal year.

That said, hot on FanDuel’s heels is DraftKings, which secured and recorded $7.2 billion in wagers coupled with $619.6 million in receipts. The third spot was claimed by Caesars Entertainment, which recorded a handle of $2.03 billion, alongside $140.4 million worth of proceeds. BetMGM, another juggernaut in NY, recorded a handle of over $1 billion alongside a revenue of $86.1 million.

While the bigwigs shone over the last financial year, the blinding lights of the Empire State were not too bright for the not-so-big names—nonetheless, a few of the lesser-known names brought in a strong showing. Rush Street Interactive emerged as the best of the rest, generating a $37.8 million profit from a handle of $643.6 million in wagers.

Other notable mentions include Fanatics, which posted $23.5 million in revenue and a $361.6 million handle, whereas Resorts World came in with a $5.5 million revenue showing and a $79.9 million handle. On the other hand, Wynn Interactive collected a $3.5 million yield from $103.7 million in bets. Finally, BallyBet rounded up the market updates with an income worth $1.7 million from $43.7 million wagers placed.

March’s Outlook

While there’s a lot to commend the Empire State based on its last financial year performance betting-wise, March 2024 experienced a slight decline in revenue compared to March last year. While the overall wagering handle of the state increased by 3.4% to reach the $1.85 billion mark, revenue slightly declined by 6.8% to $151.7 million. From a month-on-month perspective, both handle and revenues experienced growth, with wagering handles increasing by 4.5% from February this year and revenue increasing by 15.5% over the same period.

In terms of the specific operators, FanDuel once again led the pack in March, generating $73.1 million in revenue from a $781.2 million handle. DraftKings followed closely in second spot with $48.8 million in proceeds from $612.2 million in wagers. Meanwhile, Caesars Ent maintained the status quo by emerging third and registering earnings of $13.6 million from $184.9 million in bets. BetMGM came in fourth by posting $7.8 million in revenue from a $125.9 million handle.

Meanwhile, Fanatics put up a $3.8 million yield from a $53.2 million wagering handle, with Rush Street recording $3.3 million off $66.2 million. Other operators also contributed to the wagering stats, with Resorts World generating proceeds worth $714,649 from a handle of $8.4 million. On the other hand, Wynn Interactive got $285,923 from a betting handle of $4.2 million. Finally, BallyBet generated $267,132 from wagers worth $8.3 million.

A Look At the Rest of America

As the New York landscape looks superb, we wondered how the rest of the country was fairing and decided to take a look. The online gaming landscape reached record highs in 2023 throughout the country. Americans wagered a whopping $119.84 billion on sports in 2023, a significant rise of 27.5% from 2022’s figure, and as expected, the wagering volume translated to significant revenue figures on the whole. So, the regulated US sports wagering scene came out with a $10.92 billion yield in 2023, representing a 44.5% improvement from the figures registered in 2022.

According to the American Gaming Association, 2023’s fantastic figures can be attributed to the growing legal sports wagering footprint across the country, which has seen 38 states and the District of Columbia take up the trade. The first quarter of 2024 has already posted impressive sports betting figures primarily spurred by the Superbowl and March Madness. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether 2023’s superb performance will be reflected throughout the rest of 2024. Despite the promising start to the year, industry insiders fear a slump is coming in the handle and, of course, the resulting proceeds.

So, according to experts in the sports betting arena, being that 2023’s numbers were a result of more states breaking into the scene, it could end up working against 2024. That’s because there are still jurisdictions around the country that face significant challenges when lawmakers try to enact the activity. Also, most of the hard work regarding getting more states to legalize sports betting has already been done. Without much room to cover, it will be pretty difficult for 2024 to match up to the highs of 2023.

New York, the Shining Beacon of Limitless Potential

New York’s record-breaking 2023 fiscal year represents a step in the right direction for a relatively new industry player. Having debuted hardly two years ago and skyrocketing to the top echelons of the online sports wagering realm, the rest of the country should ideally borrow a leaf from NY’s quick rise to prominence.

As the online and mobile sports betting scene continues to thrive, there’s still hope that New York can enter the brick-and-mortar gambling realm and perhaps display the same dominance to the rest of the country. That said, decisions on the state’s naming of new successful land casino license holders are not expected to come before 2025. The state plans to issue three downstate casino licenses, and the applicants must meet the strict requirements set by the New York Gaming Commission.