New York’s eight online sportsbooks took in about $1.73 billion in August, down 15.2% to 15.3% from a year earlier. Gross revenue was about $168.5 million, down 5.2%, because the hold rate improved to 9.74%.
According to RG, August was the lowest monthly handle since July 2025 and only the second year-over-year decline in New York’s mobile betting era, after a 1.5% dip in January 2026. It was also the second straight month below $2 billion, following eleven months above that level.
The softer top line still produced a large tax haul. At the state’s 51% rate, New York took in $85.9 million in August, lifting year-to-date receipts above $810 million. The education fund’s take slipped by $4.8 million, far less than the roughly $48 million a proportional revenue decline would have cost.
DraftKings led August handle with $614 million and $56.3 million in gross revenue, narrowly ahead of FanDuel’s $599.6 million in wagers. FanDuel turned that into $64 million in revenue on a 10.7% win rate, while Fanatics posted $213.2 million in handle and $18.8 million in revenue.
Fanatics’ comparison was distorted by a single bettor who had wagered hundreds of millions of dollars through the book last August. Without that outlier, its handle would have fallen 60% year over year. BetMGM reported $119.9 million in handle and $12.6 million in gross revenue, and Caesars had $112.4 million and $10.2 million.
The slowdown came after a July that had been lifted by World Cup action and Knicks wagering dollars, and August relied instead on MLB, the NFL preseason and college football’s Week Zero. The reports said it was unclear how much, if any, of the softer August total was tied to prediction markets.
