New York Mobile Sports Betting Breaks $1B Handle Barrier After Second Full Week

Posted on: January 29, 2022, 11:56h. 

Last updated on: January 29, 2022, 04:54h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

At this point, the question isn’t if New York will set the record for sports betting handle in January. The question is by how much.

Josh Allen
Buffalo Bills quarterback celebrates a touchdown in the Bills playoff game against the New England Patriots. New York will soon celebrate a record-breaking debut month for mobile sports betting. Through the first two-plus weeks, bettors have wagered nearly $1.2 billion. (Image: Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press)

Figures released Friday by the New York State Gaming Commission show the state’s five mobile sports betting apps have generated a handle of nearly $1.18 billion through Jan. 23.

Statewide mobile betting went live in New York on Jan. 8. For perspective, New Jersey did not surpass the $1 billion monthly handle mark until last September, more than three years after mobile sports betting went live in the state.

The record monthly sports betting handle for a US state is $1.3 billion, set by New Jersey in October. That figure includes wagers at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. If you add the January-to-date handle from the sportsbooks at its four upstate commercial casinos, New York’s overall handle for the month is $1.19 billion.

Gross gaming revenues (GGR) from mobile gaming total $91.4 million. The state’s share is $46.6 million.

Caesars Still Tops in New York

Wagering continued to increase in the second full week of betting.

The five sports betting apps reported a handle of $572.6 million for the week ending last Sunday. That’s an increase of $140.8 million, or 32.6 percent, from the $431.8 million New Yorkers bet two weeks ago.

Combined GGR for the week was $43.2 million.

Caesars Sportsbook once again reigned supreme in the state. The Las Vegas-based gaming giant’s app reported a weekly handle of $229.7 million and GGR of $19 million. To date, Caesars has reported a handle of $487.4 million, which equates to 41.5 percent of the betting activity.

FanDuel reported a one-week handle of $159.7 million and a GGR of $10 million. For the first 16 days of mobile sports betting in New York, the Flutter Entertainment brand reported a total handle of $360 million, a 30.6 percent market share.

DraftKings handle for the week ending last Sunday was $131.1 million, with a GGR of $10.8 million. The Boston-based sports betting operator has a month-to-date handle of $265.5 million, which equals a 22.6 percent market share.

BetRivers reported a weekly handle of $11.6 million, with a GGR of nearly $785,000. For the first 16 days, the Rush Street Interactive brand has a total handle of $22.2 million and a GGR of $1.2 million.

BetMGM Posts First Numbers

Friday’s report marked the first numbers from BetMGM. The sports betting operator that’s a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Entain PLC officially went live in New York on Jan. 17.

BetMGM missed out on some NFL playoff action because of a Monday launch. Because of that, its handle for its first six days in New York was $40.7 million. The operator reported a GGR of $2.5 million during that time frame.

Next week’s report will mark the first numbers from PointsBet, which last Monday became the sixth mobile operator to launch in the state.

Three more operators await approval from the Gaming Commission to launch. They are BallyBet, Resorts World Bet, and Wynn Interactive.

BallyBet won’t launch until April. That’s according to information from Bally’s Corp. Chairman Soo Kim.