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It feels like we write one of these articles every single month — something about another legal sports betting record being set in the state of New York. Welp, all it took was one month of the new year for the state to smash its own record(s).
If it wasn’t already obvious that New York was the king of sports gambling (sorry, Nevada’s betting industry), well we just got one more confirmation in January 2025. Keep on reading and we’ll tell you all about it!
Records Set In Handle And Revenue
It wasn’t that New York just smashed one record, they did two to start 2025. Per the New York State Gaming Commission, a staggering $2.5 billion in wagers was placed in January —making it the largest monthly handle of any sports betting market in the U.S. Yes, that’s countrywide.
The previous record was set by New York too in October 2024. That month, it did $2.3 billion. So we’re talking about an almost 10-percent improvement this time around. That’s a pretty big beat! The year-over-year jump is even better at a whopping 25.9 percent better than January 2024.
But at the end of the day, the number that matters most to New York lawmakers is the revenue — as in money they get to keep for themselves. Here too a record was set in January with a gross revenue of $247 million. This is 6.7 percent better than the previous all-time mark set in November 2024.
We’ll be honest, we’re a little surprised by the numbers. Surprised not because of New York, but the time of month. Across other legal markets, most records are set during the NFL regular season — when every team is in action. By January, it’s playoff time and there’s fewer games to throw money on.
But here’s one possible reason January still ended up being a monster: the expansion of the College Football Playoff. This year was the first to have 12 teams — meaning more high-stakes matchups to bet. That, plus the usual slate of NFL postseason matchups, and New York bettors definitely had their hands full.
Which Operators Banker The Most?
Alright, let’s talk about the operators now. Remember, they get to keep 49 percent of the revenue themselves after paying the rest to the state in taxes. Who’s banking the most from January’s toll?
The number-one winner is FanDuel, as they’ve been since the market opened in January 2022. The Flutter Entertainment-owned giant had a record-breaking month, with nearly $965 million in bets and over $111 million in revenue — its best performance yet.
DraftKings remains FanDuel’s closest competitor, bringing in $838 million in wagers and $82 million in revenue. While FanDuel holds a slight edge, the tiny gap between these two industry leaders shows just how competitive New York’s sports betting scene has become.
In third place, Caesars Sportsbook generated $15.8 million in revenue from $163 million in bets. Fanatics Sportsbook wasn’t far behind, pulling in $15.1 million from $194 million in wagers. BetMGM rounded out the top five with $14.8 million in revenue from nearly $195 million in bets.
A notable mention goes to ESPN Bet, which launched in late 2023. The newcomer posted its best month yet, generating $2.4 million in revenue from $59 million in wagers, signaling that it could become a major player soon.
Other sportsbooks also made steady gains including:
• BetRivers (Rush Street Interactive): $3.9 million in revenue from $48 million in bets.
• Bally Bet: $1 million in revenue from $10.3 million in wagers.
• Resorts World Bet: $684,000 in revenue from $7.9 million in bets.
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How New York’s Betting Market Could Grow More
As crazy as it is to say, things could get even better for New York’s sports betting scene. There’s a new bill being floated around that if passed, would open the door to more bets in the Empire State.
There is a state Senator named Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. who just introduced a new bill, SB 2616, aiming to expand the state’s legal sports betting market. Right now, betting on league awards like MVP or Rookie of the Year isn’t allowed — but this bill could open those markets up. There’s a host of futures bets like these, both on season-long player and team performance, that are completely off-limits at the moment.
The reason? For fear of insider trading or interference. That’s why there’s language in the proposed bill that would keep bets off that could be tainted by such a thing. We’d guess that’s more for single-game props, as it’s hard to rig the MVP of an entire season of games.
It’s now up to lawmakers to decide whether SB 2616 will move forward during the 2025 legislative year. Given how much bank the state is making off betting, we think the chances of it passing are relatively high.
So what’s the big takeaway here? For us, is that New York’s betting marketplace hasn’t hit a ceiling — and it’s probably not even close to either. Remember, the state did $22-plus billion in handle in 2024. Revenue was also over $1 billion. These are all watermark highs for the entire industry.
If New York is already clobbering records in the first month of 2025, what’s in store for the other 11 months that remain? Probably much of the same if we’re being honest.
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