New York Mobile Handle Hits Record $2.79bn in October as Fanatics Gains

New York's eight mobile sportsbooks took more in October than in any month since launch, beating last October's record by 5.5%. FanDuel and DraftKings barely grew; most of the increase went to Fanatics.

• New York's mobile sportsbooks took $2.79bn of wagers in October, a monthly record and 5.5% above the previous record of $2.64bn set in October 2025, according to the New York State Gaming Commission
• Gross gaming revenue rose 8.1% to $258.1m, a hold of 9.26% and the third-highest monthly figure since launch in January 2022, behind November and December 2025
• At the 51% tax rate, the month produced $131.7m for the state's education fund, against $121.8m a year earlier
• Fanatics lifted its handle 56% to $321.4m and its share to 11.5%, while FanDuel and DraftKings grew by less than 2% each
• Fiscal year handle is up 6.7% at $15.35bn but revenue is down 3.5%, after a run of low-hold weeks that included the record NFL opener

New York Beat Last October's Record by $145m

Mobile sports wagering handle in New York reached $2,787.5m in October, according to the commission's monthly statewide report, posted on 6 November. That is $144.8m more than the previous record, October 2025's $2,642.7m, and 16.1% more than September. Gross gaming revenue was $258.1m against $238.7m, with hold up to 9.26% from 9.03%, still below November 2025's record $280.6m and December 2025's $259.7m.

The monthly figure does not equal any run of the commission's weekly reports, which end on Sundays. The four weeks ending 4 to 25 October total $2.47bn; the five weeks ending 4 October to 1 November, which run from 28 September, total $3.13bn. The week ending 1 November took $658.6m, $2.5m short of the weekly record of $661.2m set in the week ending 2 November 2025, but held only 4.07%, for revenue of $26.8m. The week before, books held 12.1%.

Fanatics Took the Growth That FanDuel and DraftKings Did Not

FanDuel remained the largest operator, with handle of $1,022.7m, a 36.7% share, up 1.7% on a year earlier. Its revenue rose 13.3% to $113.9m on an 11.14% hold, giving it 44.1% of the state's revenue. DraftKings took $948.7m, up 1.1%, and kept $81.9m, down 1.2%, on an 8.63% hold. Together the two took 70.7% of handle, down from 73.6% in October 2025.

Fanatics took $321.4m, against $205.7m a year earlier, and its revenue rose 28.8% to $24.0m, though its hold fell to 7.48% from 9.08%. BetMGM grew 16.4% to $218.2m and Caesars was flat at $175.6m. Rush Street Interactive's BetRivers took $50.5m, down 4.8%, theScore Bet $35.9m, down 40.5%, and Bally Bet $14.5m, according to the operators' monthly reports.

The State's Take and the Fiscal Year

Of October's revenue, $131.7m went to the state as net revenue to education, including $33,551 of fines and penalties, and $126.5m stayed with the operators. The commission's notes for the 2026/2027 fiscal year earmark $12m of that education revenue for problem gambling education and treatment, up from $6m in the 2025/2026 notes, a doubling also recorded in the state's latest harm report.

From April to October, handle totals $15.35bn against $14.39bn in the same months of 2025, but revenue is $1.37bn against $1.41bn, a hold of 8.90% against 9.83%. June produced only $116.8m of revenue on $2.25bn of handle, including a week ending 14 June in which the books lost $48.5m.

Fanatics Accounts for Most of the Growth

Fanatics added $115.7m of handle year on year, about 80% of the market's $144.8m increase, while theScore Bet lost $24.4m. FanDuel and DraftKings, with seven in ten dollars wagered, grew more slowly than the market. Fanatics' 7.48% hold, the lowest of the large operators, is consistent with heavier promotion or a different bet mix; the report does not say which. Under a 51% tax on gross revenue, share is expensive to buy in New York, and Fanatics is still paying.

The Record Came While the Exchanges Grew

October's record arrived while New York contests prediction markets in court, and while the Second Circuit refused Kalshi and Coinbase injunctions on 4 November. One month cannot show what exchange trading would otherwise have taken. It does show that in New York, one of the United States' biggest licensed markets, licensed handle kept growing through its busiest month on record.

Hold, Not Handle, Decides the State's Year

The state taxes revenue, not wagers, so a record handle month produced less tax than November 2025. Education revenue for April to October is $696.5m, against $721.3m in the same months of 2025, despite 6.7% more handle. New York's budget depends less on how much its residents bet than on how often the books win.

October gave New York the volume record operators wanted, and a hold close to normal. The fiscal year will be decided by whether the books keep enough of that handle through the winter.