October 2024 may not have been the most profitable months for sportsbooks by a long stretch, but it brought all-time high record levels of betting activity in numerous U.S. states.
At least 11 states set new highs for monthly online sports betting handle last month, according to various state gaming regulators’ revenue reports.
Most notable was New York, which took more money in October than any other month in any U.S. state in history. New Yorkers bet $2.3 billion last month, up nearly 16% year-over-year as football season hit its stride, the NBA and NHL seasons began, and the Yankees contested the World Series.
Bettors flock to sportsbooks in ‘uniquely busy month’
Maryland Lottery and Gaming reported its own new record of $593.1 million in sports bets, up 22.8% year-over-year. As Maryland Lottery Director John Martin noted, “October is a uniquely busy month on the sports calendar” because all major pro leagues in the U.S. are in season and college football is also hitting its stride.
The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council, meanwhile, reported total gross handle of $547.8 million, also an all-time high. It broke the record that had just been set in September at $520.8 million. Handle rose 23.4% year-over-year and October’s total yielded $10.1 million in tax revenue for the state, the first time that number has ever hit eight digits in the Volunteer State.
In Indiana, the new high mark for monthly betting action was set at $537.9 million, around 5% higher than the previous record of $513.7 million in November 2023. In some states, the increase was far more marked. In Delaware, for instance, handle more than double year-over-year to hit $24.5 million.
Kansas ($275.9 million), Oregon ($81.7 million), Arkansas ($60.4 million), Maine ($52.3 million), Wyoming ($24.5 million) and Montana ($7.6 million) all also set their own all-time monthly sports betting handles in a red-letter month for sports wagering activity. The young North Carolina market recorded the highest adjusted handle (accounting for promotional wagers placed) of its eight months since launching, at $589.0 million.
Others came close to breaking their own records. Iowa posted its second-highest sports betting handle ever, at $294.9 million, while the $1.3 billion in Illinois was the third-highest ever and missed the state’s monthly record by less than 5%.
Handle not matched by revenue for US sportsbooks
However, while bettors slapped down more money than ever before in several states, sportsbooks didn’t see equivalent gains in revenue as operators’ win rates largely sat at around the 7% mark across the U.S.
Numerous operators have reported stalling betting returns in recent weeks amid what executives described as “customer-friendly outcomes” including a lack of upset results in the NFL.
In New York, for example, sportsbooks’ gross revenue fell 14% month-over-month despite the new all-time U.S. record monthly handle. In two weeks of the month, operators posted a combined hold of under 5%.
