New York Sports Betting Revenue Increases Despite Declining Volume

July is traditionally considered one of the slower months for sports betting in the US, as the focus is on baseball’s MLB, which is the only league active at the time. However, this year the situation has changed somewhat, with the growth in July driven by the start of the Olympic Games in the last week of the month, as well as the Copa America in the United States in the first half of July, which contributed to the year-over-year growth.

The revenue growth was driven by an increase in the retention rate. Revenue in July reached $140.3 million, up 33.5% year-over-year and up 4.8% year-over-year in June. The overall retention rate across all operators increased to 11.1%, up from 9.1% in June 2024.

Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel remains the top licensed operator in New York State. FanDuel reported $59.3 million in revenue in July on $482.5 million in total bets, representing a retention rate of 12.3%, which is above the market average. DraftKings, in second place, posted $456.7 million in revenue and $48 million in revenue with a 10.5% retention rate.

The other operators are lagging far behind. Caesars customers wagered $108.6 million, which brought in $10.8 million in revenue. Fanatics, with a retention rate of 11.7%, beat BetMGM in revenue, bringing in $8.9 million on $76.1 million in wagered volume. Entain and MGM Resorts’ joint venture reported $89.2 million in turnover, but a lower 9.7% retention rate meant revenue was $8.8 million.

The only other operator to bring in more than $1 million in revenue was Rush Street Interactive, with $35.4 million in wagered volume and $35.4 million in revenue.

New York’s 51% sports betting gross revenue (GGR) tax meant operators retained only $68.8 million of their $140.3 million in July revenue. The remaining $71.6 million was used to fund education programs in the state.

Wynn Interactive ended July with $51,222 in revenue on $936,926 in wagered volume, marking its final month of operations in the state. Wynn will be replaced in August by ESPN Bet, which acquired Wynn’s New York sports betting license in February 2024.

Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call that ESPN Bet will aim to launch successfully in the state, leveraging the 10 million unique users who visit ESPN’s New York sites and apps each month. The company is looking to take a “healthy but cost-effective” approach to customer acquisition.

The New York market promises to be challenging for ESPN Bet, given the dominance of FanDuel and DraftKings.

The New York fiscal year begins April 1 and ends March 31. In the first four months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, total mobile sports betting volume in New York reached $6.67 billion, up 32.6% year-over-year.

Bets placed through FanDuel and DraftKings accounted for 76.5% of the total, or $5.10 billion. FanDuel generated $2.58 billion, representing 38.7% of all bets, while DraftKings generated $2.52 billion, or 37.8%. These numbers highlight the tough competition ESPN Bet will have to compete with in New York.

Revenue for the period reached $661.4 million, up 32.3% year-over-year. FanDuel and DraftKings generated $541.7 million, or 81.9% of total revenue, with FanDuel generating $305.4 million and DraftKings generating $236.3 million.