D.C. set another new monthly record for online sports betting handle in October as Fanatics left a mark in its first full month in the market.
Operators in the district took $65.8 million in wagers last month, beating the record of $58.1 million set in September. Sportsbooks made $6.6 million in gross gaming revenue, down from September’s all-time high of $8.1 million but still the second-largest sum ever.
The D.C. Lottery’s unaudited figures for the month show that FanDuel continued to lead the way, taking nearly $37 million of the $65.8 million handle and earning $4.2 million in GGR with a hold of 11.5%. DraftKings was a distant second with $16 million in bets placed and $1.4 million in revenue.
BetMGM took $5.9 million in bets and made around $650,000 and Caesars reported $5.0 million in handle but made just $118,000 in GGR.
Fanatics, which launched in D.C. in mid-September through a partnership with the NWSL pro women’s soccer team Washington Spirit, took $2.2 million in bets in its first full month online. However, despite reporting less than half of Caesars’ handle, it made more revenue, around $154,000.
DC market’s growth showing
Looking at the figures shows how much D.C.’s market has transformed. This time last year, things looked radically different with the much-maligned GambetDC as the only operator. This summer, first FanDuel took over from GambetDC before the district opened up to allow BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings and Fanatics to step in to compete across the whole jurisdiction.
October’s overall handle and revenue are quadruple and triple, respectively, the amounts recorded in October 2023. Year-to-date revenue has now topped $40 million, up 165% compared to last year, while year-to-date handle is up 138% to $327.3 million. All-time, D.C. is now less than $5 million short of hitting $1 billion in online sports betting handle.
Fanatics makes a splash across US
Since taking over from PointsBet in the U.S. last year, Fanatics has gradually begun to prove itself to be a solid competitor in the battle to be the best of the rest behind the clear online sports betting market leaders.
Already carrying some brand recognition among sports fans from its status as an apparel giant, the company is making “a strong play for podium positions” in many states, according to Vixio analyst Daniel Stone.
Most strikingly, it has set itself a new record for betting activity in New York in each of the last four months, climbing sequentially from $76 million in July to as high as $178 million in October. That October total was better than PointsBet ever did in the Empire State and was strong enough to place third behind DraftKings and FanDuel. It also yielded more than $12 million in GGR.
Eilers and Krejcik data suggests Fanatics has grown its New York market share from under 3% to over 7% in seven months since taking over from PointsBet there in March.
Under new Chief Marketing Officer Selena Kalvaria, formerly an SVP at Gucci, Fanatics went all-in with a new marketing campaign for the start of football season. It has also embarked upon a big promotional spending drive in markets like New York.
