It was only a year ago, if that long, when it seemed improbable for any one state to see over $2 billion in bets placed at legal sportsbooks.
Now, New York could do it in back-to-back months.
According to data from the New York State Gaming Commission, NY sportsbooks collected $529.5 million in handle for the week ending Nov. 19 – the second-best week in the state’s nearly two-year history and a total that puts the Empire State on the brink of making history.
Again.
NY sportsbooks break out the rake for Nov. 19 week
Let’s start with the facts. New York has only seen one other week top what sportsbooks just accomplished.
With $529.5 million for the week ending Nov. 19, the Empire State now has its third week topping $500 million in handle. The Nov. 19 window squeezed into second place ahead of Oct. 29 ($527.4 million). Only one week – Jan. 23, 2022, the third active week of online sportsbooks in NY – bested it with a total of $572.6 million.
Of note, each of the past five weeks has produced handle that ranks in the top nine weekly totals for New York.
As far as total NY sports betting revenue, the week of Nov. 19 generated $40.7 million that cracks the state’s top 15.
As for the individual operators, FanDuel Sportsbook NY enjoyed its second-best week ever for handle ($262.3 million, shy of the $274.7 million set in October), followed by DraftKings Sportsbook NY with $154.1 million.
Meanwhile, after being offline since June 25, Bally Bet NY made its return with $1.76 million in handle and $53,978 in revenue. Bally’s previous high for weekly bets was $838,391, set in mid-March, while the revenue total ranks fourth for the brand.
Could NY sports betting go back-to-back $2 billion months?
For nearly two years, many speculated that New York would become the first state to crack $2 billion in monthly handle. In October, NY sportsbooks did just that, clocking in at $2,006,823,408.
Doing it once is quite the feat. Doing it twice starts a sample size. And doing it in back-to-back months shows a trend.
Again, NY sportsbooks could do just that in November.
With two full weeks of data, which excludes the first few days of November, online sports betting in NY has drawn in around $983.5 million in bets. Another full week remains to be reported, as does the final few days of the month.
But if you take into account the average week this fall and extrapolate, one could project that New York sportsbooks would head into the Christmas season having put together a $2.05 billion month in November – surpassing October totals.
Where 2023 stands compared to 2022 debut
In its first year of existence, online sports betting in New York set a record tone.
The nine sportsbooks combined for $16.2 billion in 2022 handle, easily the single-best year for any state-regulated sports betting industry since the US Supreme Court repealed PASPA in 2018. On top of that, New York also set the record for single-year tax revenue from sports betting at $693 million.
Already, NY sportsbooks have almost topped those totals – with two official months still unaccounted for.
Through October, sportsbooks in NY accepted $14.95 billion in bets, a total that swells to $15.9 billion if you account for the past two full weeks of November. Revenue, meanwhile, stood at $1.35 billion through the first 10 months and at $1.4 billion if you account the past two weeks.
The most notable number, however, is state tax revenue: $688.8 million through October and just shy of $732 million when including the past two weeks.
So, yeah, New York will have yet another record before Christmas.
