According to the New York State Gaming Commission, online sports betting in New York experienced a significant decline in August, with a 15.2% drop in handle compared to the previous year, totaling $1.73 billion.
The gross gaming revenue for the state's eight licensed operators also fell by 5.4% year-over-year, amounting to $168.5 million.
These figures represent a decrease from July 2026, when operators reported a handle of $1.88 billion and gross gaming revenue exceeding $214 million, marking a month-over-month decline of 7.8% in handle and 21.4% in revenue.
In comparison to August 2025, which saw a handle of $2.04 billion and gross revenue of $178.2 million, this year's numbers reflect a downward trend in both metrics.
Since the fiscal year commenced in April, New York's online sportsbooks have accumulated a handle of $10.2 billion and gross gaming revenue of $947.9 million. The report did not specify which operators contributed to the monthly totals.
August marked the first year-over-year decline for the market since May. The previous months benefited from events like the Knicks and the World Cup, while last August's figures were boosted by the first full Saturday of college football.
This year, betting activity was primarily driven by MLB, NFL preseason games, and college football's Week Zero. The impact of emerging prediction markets on this decline remains uncertain.
A notable single wager from a bettor through Fanatics inflated last year's figures; without this, Fanatics would have seen a 60% year-over-year drop in handle.
DraftKings maintained its lead in the market for the second consecutive month, holding 9.2% on a handle of $614 million, resulting in $56.3 million in gross gaming revenue.
FanDuel reported the highest gross gaming revenue in the state at $64 million, with a 10.7% hold from $599.6 million in wagers, although this was a decrease from 11.9% in August 2025.
Fanatics' handle dropped to $213.2 million without last year's significant wager, with a hold below 9%, generating $18.8 million in gross gaming revenue, which is nearly $3 million more than the previous year.
BetMGM achieved a 10.5% hold on nearly $120 million in wagers, while Caesars secured 9.1% of a $112.4 million handle.
BetRivers also recorded a 10.5% hold on $10.1 million in wagers, while theScore Bet and Bally Bet narrowly missed a double-digit hold.
Overall, operators achieved a 9.7% hold for the month, which is about one percentage point higher than August 2025. This figure is the second-lowest monthly gross gaming revenue total of 2026, yet weekly revenue surpassed $30 million each week in August for the second year in a row.
New York collected $85.9 million in tax revenue from operators in August, under the state's 51% tax rate, bringing the fiscal year-to-date tax total to over $810 million.
Typically, New York's handle sees a sharp increase with the start of the NFL and college football seasons. For the week ending September 6, the handle reached $483.3 million, a 15% rise from the previous week during college football's first full schedule of games.
However, this total is still down 13.4% compared to the same week last year. Operators recorded a 9.3% hold for the week, generating $44.8 million in gross gaming revenue, compared to $66.6 million during last year's Labor Day week.
Last year, New York's online sportsbooks generated $2.23 billion in wagers during the first full month of football, representing a 10% increase from the previous year. Marketing and data firm H2 Gambling Capital has identified New York as a key market to observe this football season to understand the effects of prediction markets on handle.
The firm anticipates the first nationwide decline in sports betting handle during an NFL season, projecting $31.4 billion in wagers nationally, which is a decrease of 0.8% from the previous year.
The upcoming monthly report from the New York State Gaming Commission will reveal whether the slowdown in August was a temporary occurrence or indicative of a longer trend of reduced wagering and revenue.