New York mobile sports betting gross gaming revenue (GGR) rose 26.7% year-on-year to $244.1m in April, according to the New York State Gaming Commission, as an 11.28% hold rate drove revenue outperformance against nearly flat handle growth.
Revenue Growth on Hold Rate, Not Volume
Handle for April came in at $2.17bn, up just 0.6% from April 2025. Month-on-month, handle fell 7% from March’s $2.3bn, while revenue rose 12.4% from $217.3m.
The hold rate was the decisive factor. At 11.28%, operators extracted $244.1m in GGR from $2.17bn in wagers — a strong conversion in a market where handle growth has moderated following several years of rapid expansion. The prior month, March, had recorded a 9.34% hold rate, producing $217.3m in GGR from $2.3bn in handle.
New York taxes online GGR at 51%, the highest rate in any multi-operator US state. Applied to April’s GGR, that produced approximately $124.5m in state tax receipts from mobile betting in the month alone. Revenue from mobile sports wagering funds education aid, youth sports programmes, and problem gambling treatment, with fixed statutory allocations to the latter two.
The April handle of $2.17bn is the highest recorded for the month in New York’s history. Volume has grown from $1.54bn in April 2023 to $2.17bn in April 2026, a cumulative rise of more than $620m over three years. NBA and NHL playoff schedules, alongside the early MLB season, supported betting engagement through the period, with live betting and same-game parlay products generating elevated activity from post-season fixtures.
Operator Performance
DraftKings led on handle with $732.3m, up 0.7% from $727.3m in April 2025. Revenue reached $66.8m, a 20.7% year-on-year increase.
Caesars Sportsbook posted handle of $139.1m and revenue of $13.7m. theScore Bet — which entered the New York market under the ESPN Bet brand before rebranding in December 2025 — generated handle of $45.3m and revenue of $3m.
Fiscal Year Context
April marks the opening month of New York’s fiscal year. The prior twelve-month period, from April 2025 to March 2026, produced mobile sports betting GGR of $2.6bn, up from $2.1bn in the preceding year — an increase of approximately 21%. Handle for the same period grew 9.3%, from $23.9bn to $26.2bn.
The fiscal year’s final month, March 2026, saw handle rise 16% month-on-month to $2.3bn, though it fell 4.5% from March 2025’s $2.4bn. Revenue for March rose 34.2% year-on-year from $161.8m to $217.3m.
North American markets have broadly sustained growth in online wagering revenue through fiscal 2025/26. <a href=”https://theigaming.eu/2025/09/19/michigan-igaming-revenue-surges-9-8-in-august-2025-reaching-312-54-million/”>Michigan iGaming revenue surged 9.8% in August 2025, while <a href=”https://theigaming.eu/2025/10/14/betmgm-reports-strong-q3-performance-raises-full-year-2025-guidance/”>BetMGM raised its full-year 2025 guidance following a strong Q3, reflecting sustained operator confidence in the US market heading into the year’s close.
The Tax Rate Question
New York’s 51% online GGR tax has drawn sustained operator criticism since mobile sports betting launched in January 2022. Senator Joseph Addabbo introduced SB 1962 in early 2024 to lower the rate, and operators have made the case at joint legislative hearings that the rate constrains promotional investment and product development. Neither proposal has progressed to a vote.
April’s state tax receipts of approximately $124.5m demonstrate why the legislature’s appetite for a rate cut remains limited. Monthly mobile betting tax yields have regularly exceeded $100m. With education funding obligations tied directly to the mobile GGR stream, any downward revision to the 51% rate would require a compensating mechanism — a political and fiscal calculation the current legislative session has not resolved.
Source: New York State Gaming Commission
