Relative to the rest of the calendar months, yes, July was a down period for New York sportsbooks. It always is.
But the NY sports betting industry saw its streak of months with over $1 billion in accepted wagers extend to 12 as sportsbooks reported $1.26 billion in handle for the first billion-dollar July in the young history of New York sports betting.
The run of 12 straight months is also a state record.
In addition, operators combined for $140.33 million in gross gaming revenue.
State of NY sports betting industry
Those handle (up 31.2%) and revenue (up 33.5%) totals represent skyrocketing increases from 2023. And while the overall handle is down month-to-month and the state’s lowest since August 2023, that is to be expected.
With fewer major sporting events on which to wager, July is typically the worst month of the calendar year not only in New York but throughout the country.
But consider July 2024: With $1.26 billion in total bets, the 14% month-to-month decrease is actually the best June-to-July transition since NY sportsbooks launched in early 2022.
And in that time, sportsbooks in New York have totaled nearly $47.6 billion in handle. With just $2.45 billion left, operators will no doubt cross the $50 billion threshold in September. Only New Jersey, which launched online sports betting in 2018, has accomplished that feat, sitting at $52.4 billion through June 2024.
Breaking down NY sportsbooks in July 2024
In lock-step with the overall trend, nearly every sportsbook in New York had its worst handle month of 2024 in July. In fact, many operators had their worst month since summer 2023.
Only Fanatics Sportsbook NY went against the norm, with its $76.1 million representing the sportsbook’s second-best month this year.
As usual, FanDuel Sportsbook NY and DraftKings Sportsbook NY led the way in handle, with the two operators combining for nearly 75% of the overall bets placed in July.
Caesars Sportsbook NY was the only other operator to eclipse $100 million in monthly handle, but its $108.6 million stands as its lowest output since launching in January 2022.
| Online Sportsbook | Handle | Gross Gaming Revenue | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $482,500,620 | $59,281,047 | $30,233,622 |
| DraftKings | $456,788,925 | $47,963,691 | $24,461,482 |
| Caesars | $108,559,528 | $10,837,755 | $5,527,255 |
| BetMGM | $89,171,523 | $8,829,316 | $4,502,951 |
| Fanatics | $76,139,735 | $8,934,181 | $4,556,432 |
| BetRivers | $35,403,060 | $3,478,748 | $1,774,161 |
| Bally Bet | $6,376,658 | $493,828 | $251,852 |
| Resorts WorldBet | $6,090,705 | $459,138 | $234,160 |
| WynnBet | $936,926 | $51,222 | $26,123 |
| Total | $1,261,967,679 | $140,328,926 | $71,568,040 |
Football coming + continuing billion-dollar run
As noted, July marked the 12th straight month that NY sportsbooks topped $1 billion in overall handle. That streak will likely continue in August. After all, in each of the previous two years, total bets placed in August increased from July thanks to the return of the NFL preseason, setting the stage for September and the regular seasons for professional and college football.
August will also feature another landmark moment, as ESPN Bet NY expects to make its debut this month. Penn Entertainment executives said during the company’s earnings call that they look to go live with the sportsbook by the end of the month, coming on the heels of WynnBet closing up shop at the end of July.
Overall, the NY sports betting industry continues 2024 on a record-setting pace.
With $12.25 billion in year-to-date handle and $1.16 billion in 2024 revenue, the industry is 21.6% and 25.6% ahead of 2023 standards, respectively.
