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New York Sports Betting Handle Falls 15% in August Before Football Rebound

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Altay Celikkaya

Content Manager

Updated: 16/09/26

Reading Time: 3 minutes

New York’s mobile sports betting market recorded $1.73 billion in handle during August 2026, down 15.3% from the same month last year and 7.8% from July. Gross gaming revenue (GGR) reached $168.48 million, representing a 5.5% annual decline and a 21.4% fall month on month, according to the New York State Gaming Commission’s statewide monthly sports wagering report.

The August slowdown interrupted July’s stronger revenue performance, but early September data offers a different signal. Handle increased by about 15% in the week ending 6 September as the football calendar returned, providing an early indication of the seasonal lift typically associated with college football and the NFL.

New York sports betting graphic showing a 15% decline in August handle with a betting app, falling chart and New York State outline.

Markets & Regions

Key Takeaways From New York’s August Betting Slowdown

New York sportsbooks accepted $1.73 billion in August wagers, down 7.8% from July and 15.3% year on year.
GGR fell to $168.48 million, a 21.4% monthly decline and a 5.5% annual decrease.
The statewide hold remained around 9.7%, above the approximately 8.7% recorded in August 2025.
Fiscal-year handle reached $10.16 billion through August, up approximately 7.4% from the comparable period last year.
Weekly handle climbed to $483.31 million in the week ending 6 September, around 15% above the previous week as football activity increased.

August Reverses July’s Revenue Rebound

The August figures mark a clear shift from the previous month. New York generated $214.37 million in GGR during July, when revenue increased 37.8% year on year and the statewide hold reached 11.4%. That performance came despite a decline in monthly wagering volume, highlighting how significantly margin can affect sportsbook revenue. The earlier July mobile betting revenue rebound showed handle at $1.88 billion and GGR rising sharply from June.

August handle then fell by nearly $147 million from July, while GGR declined by about $45.9 million. The change partly reflects the sports calendar. August relied heavily on MLB, NFL preseason fixtures and the opening stages of college football, while activity began to strengthen towards the end of the month as the main football schedule approached.

The result also fits a broader pattern in which wagering volume and sportsbook revenue do not necessarily move together. Across the wider regulated US market, sports betting revenue slipped in the second quarter despite higher handle, illustrating how hold can reshape headline revenue performance even when betting activity remains resilient.

Higher Hold Softens the Annual Revenue Decline

August’s approximately 9.7% hold helped limit the fall in revenue relative to the sharper decline in handle. In August 2025, New York recorded $2.04 billion in handle and $178.21 million in GGR, equivalent to a hold of around 8.7%.

That one-percentage-point improvement helps explain why GGR fell only 5.5% year on year even though handle was down more than 15%. New York’s fiscal-year position also remains stronger on wagering volume. From April through August, handle reached $10.16 billion, up approximately 7.4% from $9.46 billion during the same five months a year earlier. GGR, however, declined approximately 3.5% to $947.90 million.

The Commission recorded $82.55 million in August net revenue to platform providers and $85.93 million in net revenue allocated to education. New York taxes mobile sports wagering GGR at 51%, making changes in operator hold particularly important for both sportsbook economics and state receipts.

DraftKings Leads Handle While FanDuel Tops Revenue

Individual operator data available through the Commission’s sports wagering revenue reports shows DraftKings recorded the largest August handle at $613.98 million. It generated $56.26 million in GGR, equivalent to a hold of roughly 9.2%.

FanDuel followed closely with $599.60 million in wagers but led the market in GGR at $63.96 million, producing a hold of approximately 10.7%. Fanatics recorded $213.21 million in handle and $18.79 million in GGR.

DraftKings and FanDuel’s position at the top of the New York market also places them among the companies with the greatest exposure to state-level policy changes. Both operators have been involved in the wider US betting industry’s political spending activity as taxation, licensing and other regulatory issues become increasingly important to sportsbook strategies.

Football Provides an Early September Lift

The first September figures suggest wagering activity began recovering as the football season returned. According to the Commission’s statewide weekly sports wagering report, handle rose from $420.29 million in the week ending 30 August to $483.31 million in the week ending 6 September, an increase of approximately 15%. GGR also increased from $39.30 million to $44.85 million.

One week is not sufficient to establish a sustained recovery, particularly as the $483.31 million total remained below the comparable early-September period in 2025. The stronger weekly result nevertheless provides an early indication that football can restore volume after August’s lighter schedule.

The market is also developing alongside proposed changes to New York’s sports betting safeguards, including measures covering underage access and responsible gambling. Governor Kathy Hochul said: “We need strong regulatory safeguards to prevent those under 21 from gambling.” The proposals add a regulatory dimension to a market entering its highest-volume part of the sporting calendar.