Record Revenue Setting January for US Sports Betting Operators

January was a good month to be a sportsbook operator in the United States.

Spurred by the NFL playoffs, multiple states, including New York, Kansas, North Carolina and Maine announced huge spikes in gambling revenue, including New York’s record-setting $2.5 billion betting handle during the month.

January’s action capped a monster fall for operators in New York, which launched sports betting in 2022 and reportedly has its sights set on legalized online casino gaming too.

New York surpassed $1.75 billion in sports-betting handle every month of the football season and has topped $2 billion in bets taken in four straight months.

Though New York’s eye-popping number captured headlines, the most dramatic jump in sports betting handles came from North Carolina, which collected more than $74 million in wagers – up from about $35 million in December.

The action in the Tar Heel State was keyed by its first live NFL postseason, since North Carolina only launched mobile sports betting last March.

The sports-betting frenzy also led to a huge month even in tiny Maine, which has fewer than 1.5 million residents yet still raked in about $5.6 million in revenue in January after fielding more than $38 million in bets. 

DraftKings Sportsbook accepted more than 80 percent of the total bets in Maine in January, and the tax revenue the state received marked a 25 percent jump from December, even though the betting handle dropped from about $44.5 million.

North Carolina and Maine revenues were high even though neither state had an area team in the NFL postseason. However, New York’s numbers were buoyed by the Buffalo Bills’ run to the AFC Championship Game, and of course, Kansas’ were jolted by the Kansas City Chiefs’ third straight trip to the Super Bowl.

With the state again engulfed in Chiefs fever, and online sports betting still illegal across the border on the Missouri side, Kansas accepted more than $200 million in sports bets in January for the first time since it launched sports betting in September 2022.

It wasn’t just January’s numbers that had operators smiling, but alone, BetMGM also recently recorded a record revenue of $2.1 billion for 2024.

Between the January numbers, and the fact operators reportedly won big on the Philadelphia Eagles’ upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, sportsbooks are off to a big start in 2025. Many online sportsbooks raked in revenue after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley failed to cash in on many prop wagers offered.