New York sports betting revenue falls to $168m in slow August
Impacted by light sports calendar, monthly GGR drops below $170m for only second time in 2026
The summer sports betting surge came to a halt in August for New York operators, which reported $168.5m in gross gaming revenue (GGR) according to new data from the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC).
Monthly revenue, which fell below $170m for only the second time in 2026, was down 5.5% year over year (YOY) and 21.4% from July, when the bulk of the World Cup knockout stage was contested.
The lighter sports calendar produced an overall handle of $1.73bn, a 15.3% YOY decline and the lowest total since July 2025 for Empire State sportsbooks.
Results were nonetheless favorable for operators as statewide hold was 9.7%, which helped drive $85.9m in tax payments back to the state for the benefit of educational initiatives.
On the operator side, for the second straight month DraftKings generated the highest handle, at just under $614m. The Boston-based operator accrued $56.3m in GGR from it, equating to a 9.2% hold that missed the statewide mark by a half-point.
FanDuel, meanwhile, took the honors in the more-important revenue category, amassing $63.9m in GGR on $599.6m in overall wagering volume. The resulting 10.7% win rate significantly outperformed its primary US rival.
Fanatics continued to hold steady in the number three spot after generating $18.8m in gross revenue from $213.2m in handle, giving way to an 8.8% hold.
BetMGM ($119.9m handle, $12.6m GGR) and Caesars ($112.4m handle, $10.2m GGR) battled it out for the fourth and fifth positions, followed by Rush Street Interactive ($37.7m handle, $3.7m GGR) and theScore Bet ($24.2m handle, $2m GGR).