The New York sports betting scene is the biggest in the nation, but even it is showing signs of maturing and growth year-on-year. Generally, with only Major League Baseball going in terms of pro sports – and NFL preseason – August is a slower month in the sports betting industry. 

According to the New York State Gaming Commission August report, handle levels increased by a little more than $174 million from July to $1.44 billion. While that 13.8% increase is nice as we head into the busiest time of the sports betting season, it’s dwarfed by the 29% year-on-year increase from last August’s $1.1 billion.

The approximate $1.44 billion in handle may be month-on-month and year-on-year growth, but is still the second-lowest mark of the year for the Empire State, which has crossed over the $8 billion handle mark for the fiscal year, which began in April.

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) came in at just under $125 million for mobile sports wagering in New York, the lowest for the FY. The previous low came with $133 million in June. It’s the second year running that August has been the lowest GGR for the year, but the good news is that September last year experienced a big boost. 

DraftKings led the way with handle, bringing in approximately $526.7 million to FanDuel’s $511.6 million; FanDuel took the revenue title with $52.6 million against DraftKings’ $43.3 million. It’s also a 26.9% increase year-on-year from last August. 

Only two other operators broke the $100 million mark in August – BetMGM and Caesars. 

BetMGM had a monthly handle of $127.9 million, netting a GGR of $7 million; Caesars’ handle was a not-too-distant $119.9 million, although it recorded $9.4 million in revenues. 

All in, New York mobile sports wagering paid $63.75 million in taxes to needy state and local coffers, bringing the total to just over $400 million for the year.