The New York sports betting market is truly in a league of its own. The Empire State started the New Year with a historic milestone in sports betting, recording the largest weekly handle ever. According to the New York Gaming Commission, bettors wagered an unprecedented $600.8 million during the week ending January 5. A constant topic in forums on sports betting talk, New York sportsbooks are enjoying a great start to the year.
This record-breaking performance was driven by high-profile sporting events, including the NFL’s final regular-season games and several college football bowl games, such as the playoff quarterfinals. Basketball betting was also quite popular, especially with NBA betting. The post-Christmas and New Year’s period proved to be a particularly lucrative time for New York’s nine online sportsbooks.
New York Sports Betting Market Sets New Record
This milestone marks the first time New York’s mobile sports betting market, which launched in January 2022, has crossed the $600 million weekly handle threshold. The previous record of $592.9 million was set just a month earlier during Thanksgiving week. With so many events on the calendar, plus more exciting options with your live betting platform, its expected that numbers will continue to rise.
New York has now broken its handle record three times since the current football season began. Additionally, sportsbooks in the state have surpassed $500 million in weekly handle for five of the last six weeks, demonstrating the sustained growth of the market and the enthusiasm of bettors.
A Closer Look at the Numbers
Despite the impressive betting activity, sportsbooks saw a relatively modest hold during the week ending January 5. Sportsbooks reported a 6.3% hold, which is three points lower than the state’s average win rate in 2024. This translated to $38.1 million in revenue, a significant 38% decrease from the previous week when operators earned $61.5 million. However, the week still marked the 11th consecutive week where revenue exceeded $35 million.
The lower revenue is perfectly explained by the 6.3% hold rate. Ideally, sportsbooks will want to see the hold rate at the double digits, as it means more revenue for them. Keep this in mind when you manage your own sportsbook. Your bookie pay per head software will have the features and tools to help determine the hold rate of your sportsbook. You can easily generate reports to see your own handle, win percentage, and revenue, among other data you will need as a bookie.
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