ESPN BET saw another small week-over-week decline in mobile sports betting handle for New York despite the nine operators combining for $548.3 million, according to figures released by the state's Gaming Commission on Thursday night.
The $8.1 million in accepted wagers was down 6% from the week ending Oct. 13 and $943,600 less than the $9.1 million handle in its first full week of action from Sep. 30-Oct. 6. ESPN BET's handle the past week represented just 1.5% of the total amount wagered, which was the second-highest in 146 weeks of mobile betting in the Empire State.
The sluggish start again highlighted the challenges the PENN Entertainment-owned sportsbook faces in building share in a well-established marketplace, and ESPN BET's early performance has been a stark contrast to a hard-charging Fanatics Sportsbook of late. It was the ninth time weekly handle in New York surpassed one-half billion dollars, boosted by both the Yankees and Mets playing in their respective league championship series.
The Yankees clinching the AL pennant Saturday also led to a second consecutive big week for bettors as mobile sportsbooks claimed only $10.4 million as they had to pay out winning tickets. That was the fifth-lowest total since mobile launched in January 2022 and lowest since a record-low $5.1 million the week ending Feb. 11 following Super Bowl LVIII. BetMGM and Bally Bet posted six-figure losses for the week, and no operator had a hold better than 6.6%.
The overall 1.9% win rate was second-lowest of any week, ahead of only the 1.1% attained Feb. 11. Handle was up 13.4% compared to the week ending Oct. 13 and 18.2% compared to Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season, while revenue was down 49.4% week-over-week and 74% year-over-year. New York's mobile operators have reaped $31.1 million combined in the last two weeks after ringing up $105.2 million in the previous two weeks.
FanDuel Tops $200 Million Handle in Busy Week
FanDuel surpassed $200 million in weekly handle for the ninth time after accepting $207.9 million worth of wagers. It was the mobile juggernaut's seventh-largest weekly handle all-time, but a 2.83% hold — FanDuel's lowest since a 2.78% hold the week ending Dec. 18, 2022 — resulted in a year-low $5.9 million in revenue.
That win rate, though, was still notably better than the 0.8% posted by DraftKings as it emerged with less than $1.5 million — also a low for 2024 — against $198.3 million handle. That was the fourth-most action DraftKings has seen in any week, but it had its worst week since its lone weekly loss of $3.4 million Sept. 3, 2023.
Fanatics Sportsbook did not have a great week with a 5.6% hold on $40.3 million handle, but it was still enough for a rare second-place finish for revenue with close to $2.3 million. It was also the second time in three weeks Fanatics topped $40 million in accepted wagers.
ESPN BET could take some solace in having the highest hold of the week as it led to $537,900 in revenue. That pushed its winnings in three-plus weeks over $2 million, and ESPN BET has a modest 7.1% hold against $29 million worth of bets placed.
Caesars also narrowly topped one-half million dollars in revenue with $515,400 as it attained a 1.3% hold on $39.5 million handle. BetRivers came within $4,500 of $500,000 while crafting a 4.5% win rate from $11.1 million worth of wagers. Resorts World was the last of the seven operators to come out ahead for the week, claiming $50,400 with a 2.9% hold on $1.8 million handle.
BetMGM came within $450 of a $500,000 loss for the week, its sixth overall weekly loss in New York and third-largest. It did have a minus-1.3% hold from $38.6 million handle. Bally Bet's minus-9.8% hold contributed to tis largest all-time loss of minus-$270,900 that came with its fourth-biggest handle of nearly $2.8 million.
