New York´s Online Sportsbooks Just Miss Record in March with $1.6 Billion in Wagers

"Football is still king among bettors, but March is typically the busiest non-NFL month of the year," said Mike Mazzeo, lead analyst for PlayNY.com. "March's handle falling so close to January's record is a sign that bettors remain highly engaged during major events, even though wagering expectedly slowed after the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament."

New York's online sportsbooks accepted $1.64 billion in wagers in March, according to official data released Monday by the New York State Gaming Commission. That is up 7.2% from the $1.53 billion wagered in February at New York's online sportsbooks, though shy of the U.S. record $1.67 billion in online wagers that the state's books accepted in January.

Online sportsbooks averaged $52.8 million in bets per day, which was down slightly from the $54.6 million in bets per day over the 28 days of February. Retail data was not immediately available from the state on Monday.

Online sportsbooks fared much better than in February, though. Sportsbooks won $114.3 million in gross revenue from March's bets, up 38.7% from $82.4 million in gross gaming revenue in February. Operators netted $56.0 million in revenue and injected a whopping $58.3 million into state coffers.

New York's online sportsbooks have now generated $151.7 million in tax revenue for the state. That is nearly $30 million more than Pennsylvania's $122.5 million in state and local taxes that the state's sportsbooks generated in all of 2021, which was then a U.S. record.

Through the market's first three months, online sportsbooks have produced $320.8 million in gross revenue on $4.8 billion in wagers. Only New Jersey, Nevada, Illinois, and Pennsylvania generated more in sports bets — both online and retail — in all of 2021.

"A seasonal slowdown will hit sportsbooks over the next few months, but it is hard to imagine a stronger launch," said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayNY.com. "The NBA playoffs, baseball, and major golf tournaments will keep bettors interested, but we'll have to wait until football season for similarly eye-popping numbers. Regardless, the state has clearly been the biggest winner so far."

FanDuel continued to hold the online market lead with $673.1 million in bets, which was up from $568.1 million in February. Those bets led to a record in gross revenue with $58.3 million, more than doubling the $23.2 million that the operator won in February.

DraftKings was second with $414.5 million in wagers, up from $387.6 million in February. The month's wagers produced a $22.9 million win, down from $30.0 million in January.

Caesars continued to slow with $273.4 million in wagers, down from $323.4 million in February. Gross revenue rose to $21.6 million from $19.8 million in February.

"FanDuel's start has been remarkable, producing more revenue in March than most states' entire sports betting industries will," Ramsey said. "In just three months, FanDuel has solidified its position as the market leader and it will be a significant challenge for its rivals to eat into that early lead."