FanDuel dominates New York sports betting revenue in November
Online sports betting in New York State produced revenue of $280.6 million in November, a 21.2% year-over-year increase. Handle rose 15.1% to $2.6 billion, as books held at a 10.8% rate.
FanDuel represented fully $1 billion of handle alone, achieving revenue of $131.9 million. DraftKings saw $916.3 million in handle and revenue of $89.1 million.
Fanatics achieved almost $23 million in win on handle of $209.1 million. In its last month of operation, ESPN Bet notched handle of $56.5 million and revenue in the amount of $3.9 million.
BetMGM had handle of $171.6 million and revenue of $13.5 million. Caesars Sportsbook’s handle was $186.2 million, resulting in a win of $14 million.
BallyBet saw $16.8 million wagered with a win of $1 million. BetRivers achieved handle of $49.9 million, with revenue of $4 million.
David McKee is an award-winning journalist who has three decades of experience covering the gaming industry.
Verticals:
Sectors:
Topics:
Dig Deeper
Related stories
The Backstory
Setting the stage
FanDuel’s November surge in New York did not happen in isolation. It sits atop a year of escalating volume, shifting market shares and a regulatory framework that amplifies both gains and risks. New York’s mobile market has matured into a scale operation where monthly handle routinely crosses $2 billion, operators manage razor-thin margins through hold discipline and promos, and a 51% tax rate converts swings in gross gaming revenue into immediate consequences for public coffers.
The state’s momentum was clear early. New York set a handle record with $2.48 billion wagered in January, the highest since online betting launched in 2022. Gross gaming revenue jumped to $247 million, helping deliver $149 million to the education fund. That performance marked the fifth straight month above the $2 billion threshold and underscored how scale and seasonality work together in the country’s largest online betting market.
February extended the run. Operators posted $185 million in revenue on $2 billion in handle, up 41% year over year on an 11% wagering increase. FanDuel’s edge was visible in that period, too, driven by a 12.5% hold. DraftKings’ hold lagged at 7.2%, a gap that set up a spring swing when college basketball loosened FanDuel’s grip.
Records, taxes and the cost of scale
New York’s headline numbers come with tough arithmetic. The 51% tax on gross gaming revenue means that capital discipline and win rates matter more than in other states. January’s record month spotlighted the trade-off: big handles and stronger holds translate into outsized contributions for education, but they also pressure operators to balance promos, pricing and risk tolerance in a high-tax regime. Regulators have also signaled vigilance over gray-market threats, as noted by commissioners who aired concerns about sweepstakes sites at a January meeting that could divert taxable activity.
The February data reinforced a pattern. FanDuel’s model benefited from tighter pricing and parlay mix, while rivals bore the cost of promotions and lower hold. Caesars’ handle fell 20% that month as it recalibrated, while BetMGM sat in the middle tier with a steadier hold of 9.1%. Fanatics scaled handle to $160 million yet fell behind BetMGM in win, highlighting how product mix and parlay penetration can make or break monthly results.
This structural backdrop matters for November’s leaderboard. FanDuel’s dominance is magnified by a market that rewards strong hold strategies at scale. In a state where books now expect multi-billion-dollar months for much of the calendar, incremental hold improvements and customer mix shifts can move tens of millions of dollars in gross win and tax receipts.
March Madness and a rare changing of the guard
The one clear counterpoint to FanDuel’s usual command came in March. The tournament’s volatility and bettor behavior nudged the board enough for DraftKings to edge into first. As the New York State Gaming Commission reported, DraftKings overtook FanDuel in March revenue for the first time in 15 months. Overall handle rose 32% to $2.4 billion, while average hold slipped to 6.6% as favorites fell and promos rose. DraftKings captured a 37.4% handle share to FanDuel’s 35.3%, converting the edge into $62.6 million in win versus FanDuel’s $59.5 million.
The narrow win was a reminder that seasonality compresses margins and can flip monthly positions. It also signaled the rise of fast followers. Fanatics posted the most dramatic year-over-year swing in March with $12.9 million, a 239.8% increase. BetMGM delivered $11 million on a 40.9% jump, while Caesars stumbled, down 37.9% to $8.5 million as its hold and volume weakened. The month validated DraftKings’ ability to trade market share in peak betting windows, but it did not erase the structural advantages FanDuel retained in parlay-led hold the rest of the year.
By November, the pendulum had swung back. FanDuel leaned on a billion-dollar handle month and outsized win to reclaim distance. DraftKings trailed in revenue despite near-parity in handle, consistent with its lower-hold profile in other months. The spread between handle and win underscores how product design and risk controls, not just volume, decide monthly winners under New York’s tax regime.
Consolidation pressures and ESPN Bet’s retreat
The middle of the pack kept shifting in 2024 as operators recalibrated marketing and risk to survive New York’s tax load. ESPN Bet’s early share gains did not translate into sustained profitability in the state. Its presence showed up in the spring, where it posted a $4 million win on $43 million in February handle and then a modest $4 million in March with a 7.4% hold. Those thin results under heavy tax pressure foreshadowed an exit that left customers to migrate to incumbents and climbing challengers like Fanatics.
The November board reflects that consolidation in miniature. Fanatics continued to scale handle faster than many rivals, though converting that volume into higher hold remains the test. BetMGM and Caesars tried to stabilize share and improve win rates without overspending on promotions that may not pay back under a 51% skim. Smaller brands chased niche segments, but monthly figures showed limited traction. The shakeout favors firms with deep books, integrated media funnels or both, and validates FanDuel and DraftKings’ two-pillar dominance in a high-tax, high-volume state.
Rules of the road: limits talk and enforcement pressure
Policymakers are probing whether the balance between growth and responsibility is right. A proposal in Albany would tighten consumer protections by introducing daily wager and deposit caps, plus daytime ad restrictions. Backers say limits would curb harm as betting expands. Critics warn hard caps could push high-value customers to New Jersey or Connecticut and shrink taxable revenue in a market that generated more than $1 billion in 2024 revenue.
The bill sits alongside stepped-up scrutiny of gray-market sweepstakes platforms flagged by regulators in January. Together, they show the state’s dual-track approach: protect consumers and the tax base while keeping the legal market attractive enough to retain serious bettors. For operators, that means more compliance costs and potential revenue headwinds on top of a tax rate that already compresses margins. For the state, the stakes are direct. Education funding rides on sustained gross win. Policy missteps could divert wagers across borders or into untaxed channels.
A regional lens on scale and strategy
New York’s scale is unmatched, but neighboring results offer perspective on structure. In New Hampshire, a single-operator model anchored by DraftKings delivered a record in November, producing more than $4.5 million for education on about $75 million in handle. The New Hampshire Lottery credited five years of momentum with DraftKings and emphasized responsible gaming tools like stat sheets, limits and cooling-off periods. That contrasts with New York’s open field of nine operators, where competition drives promotions and product differentiation but can leave mid-tier brands struggling under tax pressure.
The comparison illustrates why FanDuel’s November performance matters. In a crowded market with a heavy fiscal leash, the leaders need sustained product innovation to hold share and win revenue. DraftKings has shown it can outkick FanDuel in select months tied to college hoops and specific bettor behavior. FanDuel has shown superior hold discipline and parlay economics that compound in football season. Fanatics and BetMGM bring capital and ecosystems to press the incumbents. Caesars seeks to tighten operations and find efficient growth. Policy debates on limits and enforcement could tilt the field at the margins.
Across 2024, New York’s core story stayed consistent: record handles, volatile monthly holds and outsized tax stakes. November simply reaffirmed that in the country’s biggest arena, execution on margins matters as much as raw volume, and small shifts in risk and product mix can swing tens of millions of dollars and funnel nine-figure sums to public education.
