Last week, New York'sportsbooks had a remarkably good week at their clients' expense.
The nine licensed mobile operators reported gross gaming revenue of $43 million for the week ending Oct. 9, according to the latest gaming commission report, the highest GGR since the third week of legal sports betting, which ended Jan. 23.
The high GGR was mostly the result of a remarkably high statewide hold rate – or loss rate for gamblers – of 13.5%, which is a bit puzzling considering the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, and New York Jets all easily covered the point spread on Sunday. It was among the highest hold rates in New York since launch, but the second over 13.3% in the last four weeks. The average hold rate for sports gambling nationwide is around 7.2%.
The $319.3 million in handle last week continued a tepid fall recovery after handles dropped significantly over the summer. Handles have eclipsed $300 million for three straight weeks, but haven't yet returned to the high-flying early days of legal sports betting in New York, when they exceeded $400 million in four out of the first five full weeks.