Sports bettors wagered more than $2.4 billion in New York in September 2026, according to figures from the New York State Gaming Commission — a 5% increase on September 2025 and an uptick of nearly $114 million.
The monthly result extends a year of growth in the largest sports betting state among the 39 US jurisdictions with legal sports gambling. Through September, overall 2026 New York betting volume was up 3.7% year over year, with roughly $697 million more wagered than in the same period of 2025.
The trend is stronger still on a fiscal-year basis. Over the first six months of New York’s 2026–27 fiscal year, which began in April, handle reached nearly $12.6 billion, a 6.9% increase on the same stretch in 2025.
Operator economics moved the other way. Sportsbook gross revenues fell 5.8% to $1.1 billion across that six-month fiscal period, as the average win percentage dropped from 10% to 8.8% — a function of bettors faring better against the books rather than of weaker demand.
Testing the displacement claim
The growth figures land in the middle of an increasingly bitter fight over sports event contracts. The American Gaming Association has argued that “prediction market platforms are offering illegal sports betting nationwide outside the state and tribal regulatory frameworks that protect consumers,” saying they “override voter decisions, bypass key consumer protections, ignore state and tribal laws, and avoid licensing and taxes.” The trade body has also said that, by contrast with licensed operators, “prediction markets contribute nothing.”
Continued handle growth in New York even as prediction market trading volume increases offers a counterpoint for prediction market proponents, who reject the idea that exchanges are cannibalising licensed sportsbooks. Research house Stifel reported that prediction market taker volume trailed sportsbook growth in September.
A mixed picture across states
New York is not an outlier. In Illinois, the second-largest sports betting state, online handle on professional and college sports through August 2026 totalled $9.3 billion, a 5.7% increase on the $8.8 billion wagered in 2025. New Jersey, however, has gone the other way, with handle down 4.1% through September 2026, falling from $8.6 billion to $8.3 billion.
What the New York data can establish is limited by its scope. The commission’s revenue reports cover the state’s nine licensed online sportsbook platforms — Bally Bet, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, theScore, Fanatics, FanDuel and Resorts World Bet — and therefore measure licensed activity rather than the size of any parallel market in sports event contracts. Rising handle shows licensed demand is not shrinking in New York; it does not quantify how much volume exchanges are handling alongside it, nor whether growth would have been faster without them.
Event contract volumes, meanwhile, continue to build. EDGE Markets is expected to process more than $2 billion in transactions during the 2026 NFL season, nearly double its 2025 total. Licensed operators are also hedging their position in the category: DraftKings has moved into event contracts, with reporting that the company sees opportunity in crypto event contracts and that its DKeX exchange self-certified protected NBA player props ahead of the season opener.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed under the GamblingZine editorial verification process.
Sources
- New York Sports Betting Handle Climbs in Face of Prediction Market Competition — Independent reporting (published 2026-10-28)
- www.casino.org — Authoritative secondary source
- www.casino.org — Authoritative secondary source
- www.casino.org — Authoritative secondary source
Reporting verified against the sources above; retrieval timestamps are preserved in the editorial record.