Breaking Down September’s Record $11.55 Billion Betting Handle

It took just about every state that now offers commercial sports betting to push the total over the line, but together those states managed to combine for a record monthly handle of $11.55 billion (and counting) in the month of September.

The total is still incomplete as the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has yet to publish figures following the Bluegrass State’s retail launch Sept. 7 and mobile launch three weeks later. But with all other jurisdictions reporting, the handle number edged past the $11.49 billion worth of accepted wagers accumulated across the country in January.

It is the fifth time monthly handle in the post-PASPA era cleared $10 billion, and put all-time sports betting handle on track to clear $300 billion by year’s end.

Six states, led by Illinois, posted their own record monthly handles, while 13 states — when excluding 2023 newcomers Ohio and Massachusetts — had year-over-year increases of $50 million or more in September. New York and New Jersey, along with Illinois, topped $1 billion worth of accepted wagers, while another seven states posted handle totals of at least $500 million.

September’s handle was up a whopping 45.9% compared to 12 months prior and was more than 14 times higher than the $817.3 million handle from September 2018 — in the first year sports betting was available on a state-by-state basis outside Nevada.

Tri-state area: NY and NJ reign supreme

In case anyone needed reminding, the epicenter of U.S. sports wagering handle is on the East Coast. New York and New Jersey provided more than $3 billion worth of proof of that in September despite neither state setting its all-time monthly high (New York would do so in October as the first to reach $2 billion).

The combined $935.2 million in increased action over September 2022 represented 25.7% of the total $3.63 billion increase, a figure that includes Ohio and Massachusetts, new marketplaces in 2023, building off zero dollars the year before. Connecticut was one of the six states to set its all-time high in September at $181 million, and the Nutmeg State bettered that in October at $189.6 million worth of accepted bets.

Northeast: Massachusetts makes its mark

Massachusetts has lived up to expectations as a top-10 market befitting its rabid fan base centralized in Boston, and the Bay State looks to have an ideal number of sports betting apps available with eight operators.

There were plenty of residents trekking into both Rhode Island and New Hampshire that no longer needed to once mobile betting became available in Massachusetts in early March. The bordering states were two of only four jurisdictions with commercial wagering to post year-over-year September declines, with New Hampshire’s dip of $11.4 million the largest amount of the quartet.

Mid-Atlantic: Maryland’s mobile entrance huge

Much the way Massachusetts’ mobile launch put a drag on neighboring states, the first full year of Maryland digital sports wagering did likewise to the nation’s capital and Delaware. Both small marketplaces had their own internal issues — a general sense of malaise when it comes to sports wagering operator options in Washington, D.C. and Delaware now completely surrounded by states with mobile betting — so it was not surprising to see Maryland chip into those totals.

What may have been surprising, however, was Virginia continuing to expand its marketplace — aided by brick-and-mortar venues after a year-plus of exclusively online betting. September marked the sixth time the Old Dominion had a half-billion dollar handle, and it recently crossed $12 billion in all-time handle.

Mid-South: Arkansas gains, Mississippi slips

While Tennessee and Louisiana both posted hefty year-over-year gains in handle — a combined $153.7 million between them — it was Arkansas‘ ability to get all three mobile operators up and running in the six months prior to September 2022 that led to the Razorback State making notable gains.

This past September marked the first direct year-over-year comparisons with all three mobile betting apps available, and the 93.5% increase was the largest, percentage-wise, of any state offering like-for-like comparisons. It also put a third state with digital wagering on Mississippi’s border, though the Magnolia State did post solid numbers compared to 2022. Arkansas’ expansion, though, did propel some potential legislative action in Mississippi, which recently empaneled a task force to look at mobile betting.

West: Big money in the mountains and deserts

Las Vegas is still a destination for sports bettors, and picks contests to kick off the NFL betting season always prove to be a big draw in the Silver State, but Arizona and Colorado continue to offer plenty of mobile options to bettors that Nevada does not. Arizona was just inside the top 10 in year-over-year dollar handle increase for existing marketplaces at $72.8 million, Colorado just outside it at $62.6 million.

DraftKings has done well to build up Oregon as a single-state operator despite not having college wagering available — its 56.1% increase compared to September 2022 ranked second overall in terms of percentage. Wyoming’s 41.8% year-over-year jump contributed to a record handle that was quickly exceeded in October when it cleared $20 million for the first time.

Midwest: Kansas begins Year 2 with a bang

In a technical sense, Illinois should be third in terms of year-over-year increase among existing marketplaces since it is more like-for-like than Maryland, but that is quibbling, as the $246.6 million increase resulting in the record-setting September handle was more than the combined increases of its Midwestern peers.

Kansas sports betting, though, showed an impressive bounce to start its second year. Despite remaining with the same six mobile apps that have been operating since practically Day 1, the $219.3 million in accepted wagers was an impressive 36.6% bounce versus 2022 and the first of back-to-back record handles in the Sunflower State.

Rust belt: OH swings in, PA swings up

While it’s easy to point at Ohio’s $691.7 million handle for September and say, “Good job,” there’s a nagging sense it could have and should have been higher considering it had a $1 billion handle in January and this was the first time full-on wagering was available for the NFL and college football. The $52.5 million in spend on promotions and bonuses is notable, but one has to wonder if the doubling of the tax rate to 20% during the summer prevented operators from offering more.

Contrast that with Pennsylvania and its high-tax, high-promo-deduction philosophy. The Keystone State had handle jump $81 million year-over-year and above $700 million, a precursor to vaulting over $800 million for the first time in state history in October. Michigan followed a similar track, but its bounce in handle helped offset a good chunk of year-over-year declines through the first eight months of the year.