ESPN BET generated a $3 million handle in its first three days of accepting mobile wagers in New York, part of a Top 10 overall week of action ending Sunday according to figures released by the state's Gaming Commission on Friday.
ESPN BET's much-anticipated entrance had been expected since late February after it spent $25 million to acquire the needed mobile sports betting licenses from Wynn Interactive Holdings. Parent company PENN International had hoped to be live by the start of the NFL season in early September, but the NYSGC did not approve ESPN BET until Sep. 23.
The betting public fared well in its initial weekend against ESPN BET — the mobile sportsbook's 5.4% hold was the lowest of the nine operators as it finished with $165,673 in revenue. If there is a silver lining to take from the weekend snapshot, ESPN BET's handle was higher than all but four weeks recorded by WynnBET.
The good fortunes against ESPN BET did not carry to wagering with most of the other eight operators, as the house totaled $52.7 million in gross revenue with a 10.2% hold against a $516.8 million handle. All nine operators finished with positive revenue, leading to an estimated $26.9 million in state taxes.
It was the tenth time New York's mobile sportsbooks cleared $50 million, with the week's haul ranking ninth. Six of those 10 instances have occurred in the 2024 calendar year.
It was the first time the weekly handle surpassed one-half billion dollars since $532.3 million was wagered the week ending May 12. It was the eighth time in 143 weeks that handle topped $500 million, ranking sixth overall.
Handle was up 7.7% compared to last week and 10.2% versus Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season. Week-over-week revenue was up 21.1% and nearly doubled from last year — surging 96.4%. It was the seventh time in the last 12 weeks that operators combined for a double-digit hold.
FanDuel Gets Back on the Double
After being edged in handle by DraftKings each of the last two weeks, FanDuel reclaimed the top spot after accepting $198.2 million worth of bets. That was $1.9 million more than DraftKings, which had its fourth-busiest week in New York with $196.3 million handle while clearing $17 billion in total action.
The $24.2 million in revenue for FanDuel fell just outside its Top 10 overall weekly earnings, though it did create a 12.2% hold. It was the 34th time FanDuel has cleared $20 million. Revenue for its eternal rival was practically unchanged from last week — DraftKings attained an 8.9% win rate in claiming over $17.4 million.
BetMGM surpassed $3 million in revenue for the sixth time while operating in New York, keeping close to $3.5 million of its $32.9 million handle to fashion a 10.5% hold. It was the third-highest weekly amount for BetMGM and most since reaping $3.7 million the week ending Feb. 25.
Caesars edged near $3.8 million for the second time in three weeks, notching a 10.9% win rate while accepting $34.7 million worth of wagers.
Despite having a record handle for the third consecutive week, Fanatics Sportsbook failed to capitalize on the extra action for the second straight week. It had the second-lowest hold of the nine sportsbooks at 5.8% as it claimed close to $2.3 million in revenue.
Fanatics has accepted $107.2 million worth of bets in the last three weeks but has only a 6.1% win rate in that span in winning $6.6 million. The week's revenue, though, was enough for Fanatics and predecessor PointsBet to surpass $100 million combined.
BetRivers was the sixth and final mobile sportsbook with a double-digit hold for the week, posting a 10.1% win rate to collect $900,700 in winnings from $8.9 million worth of wagers.
Little Sportsbooks, Big Weekly Wins
The two smallest digital operators in the Empire State, Resorts World and Bally Bet, posted the highest holds of the week at 15.2% and 13.7%, respectively. Resorts World claimed $213,583 in revenue, sneaking into the bottom of its Top 10 all-time as it surpassed $200,000 in weekly winnings for the 14th time.
Bally Bet had its second-best haul of $313,138, slotting behind the $391,466 collected a fortnight ago. Depending on when revenue was collected for both the first and last weeks, Bally Bet could have recorded its first month with $1 million in revenue, as it totaled more than $1.2 million over the last five weeks.
