One weekend of NFL action makes all the difference. About $87 million worth of a difference.
According to data released by the New York State Gaming Commission on Thursday, online sports betting in New York generated nearly $330 million in handle for the week ending Sept. 11, which included Thursday Night Football and the season’s first full slate of Sunday games.
That total is up drastically from the $243 million reported the previous week. And it comes two weeks after NY sports betting operators combined for $194 million.
Sure is nice to have the NFL back, huh?
NFL provides huge boost for NY sports betting
Last week’s handle was the highest NY sportsbooks combined for since May 8. The same can be said for the $32.6 million in NY sports betting revenue.
Certainly, this comes as no surprise. After all, the NFL stands as the most popular and most bet-on sport in North America.
This was shown via the geolocation technology company GeoComply, which noted that New York accounted for 15.3% of all geolocation transactions during NFL Week 1. This prompted Anna Sainsbury, CEO of GeoComply, to dub the Empire State industry as ‘King of the Hill.’
Just on Sept. 8, the first game of the NFL season and featuring the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo area saw over 267,000 pings, up a whopping 210% from the 86K registered a week earlier.
All of this leads to the conclusion that sports betting in New York, on pace for $18 billion in 2022 handle, could become the first state to feature a $2 billion month by as early as October.
Things looking up for NY sportsbooks
As expected, online sports betting in New York took a sizable dip during the summer. All the way down to $149.7 million in handle for the week of July 24. Since then, NY sportsbooks have seen a rebound.
In the span of two weeks, handle in New York spiked by an eye-opening $135.5 million. Head-turning at first, but then understand college football kicked off during the week of Sept. 4, followed by the NFL a week later.
Similarly, individual NY betting apps saw upticks over seven days. Only Bally Bet and PointsBet saw week-over-week dips from Sept. 4 to Sept. 11.
While FanDuel Sportsbook NY once again paced the market with $128.7 million last week, its rival was right on its heels. With just shy of $117 million in handle, DraftKings Sportsbook NY posted its highest weekly mark since Feb. 13 — the week of the Super Bowl.
| Sportsbook | Sept. 11 Handle | Sept. 4 Handle | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel Sportsbook NY | $128,713,122 | $106,812,939 | $21,900,183 |
| DraftKings Sportsbook NY | $116,992,928 | $70,506,263 | $46,486,665 |
| Caesars Sportsbook NY | $43,078,903 | $29,087,257 | $13,991,646 |
| BetMGM Sportsbook NY | $23,809,780 | $18,654,354 | $5,155,426 |
| BetRivers Sportsbook NY | $8,610,345 | $7,102,140 | $1,508,205 |
| PointsBet Sportsbook NY | $4,878,766 | $7,403,422 | ($2,524,656) |
| WynnBet Sportsbook NY | $2,254,457 | $2,016,652 | $237,805 |
| Resorts WorldBet NY | $1,410,191 | $1,082,111 | $328,080 |
| Bally Bet Sportsbook NY | $232,564 | $369,663 | ($137,099) |
| Total | $329,981,056 | $243,034,801 | $86,946,255 |
