New Yorkers flocked to their mobile sports betting apps to wager during Super Bowl week, wagering over $500 million for the eighth consecutive week.
Handle Increases, Profits Plunge
The week ending on Super Bowl Sunday saw New Yorkers bet a whopping $572.5 million, which was a 2.6% year-over-year increase from the $557.9 million wagered at the same time last year. Although specific numbers for the Super Bowl have yet to be made available, there were other sports on the betting menu that week, including the NBA, NHL, college basketball, and the start of the Olympics.
Sportsbook Revenue Declines Despite Strong Betting Activity
Unfortunately for the operators, the hold (win rate) tumbled three points from the previous year to 8.1%, which meant the $46.2 million in gross revenues were down 26% from last year’s Super Bowl week. Although the handle remained strong, the relatively low winning percentage by New York’s sportsbooks triggered the fifth time over the last 15 weeks in which profits failed to reach the $50 million plateau.
FanDuel once again proved to be New York’s most popular sportsbook, generating a handle of $207.5 million, but that was down 6.6% from the previous year. Moreover, the industry leader’s hold also declined nearly four points to 11.2% this year, which saw $23.3 million in gross revenue.
Boston-based DraftKings, the Empire State’s second most popular sports betting brand, showed similar results to last year with a $191.7 million handle, but due to its 9.2% hold, profits were up slightly to $17.6 million compared to the $17.2 million at the same time last year.
Polymarket Slapped With Class Action Lawsuit
The prediction markets continue to draw the ire of state gaming authorities by operating in the sports betting realm under the guise of sports betting contracts. Many of the leading derivatives trading platforms that historically facilitated trading commodities like gold and silver moved into the sports betting arena shortly before the 2025 Super Bowl. This has led to a blizzard of legal actions as well as cease-and-desist orders by state gaming commissions.
However, the most recent development concerns Polymarket facing a class action lawsuit filed by a third party, which will be heard in the Southern District of New York, due to Polymarket’s headquarters being based in Manhattan. California resident Lorenzo Miro San Diego argues that Polymarket is offering unregulated sports betting contracts in violation of the state gaming commission’s sports betting regulations.
Federal Authority Versus State Regulations
The prediction markets, like Polymarket, have argued that they are licensed under the federal authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which supersedes state regulations. The issues have been argued in court, with prediction markets scoring early legal victories, but more recent rulings have favored the state gaming agencies.
“Polymarket has expressly repositioned itself as a nationwide sportsbook (at least for now), open to users in all 50 states, while consciously operating without the state licensure required to offer sports betting,” write San Diego’s attorneys in the complaint. “In so doing, Polymarket knowingly and blatantly defies applicable state anti-gambling laws.”
The plaintiff allegedly lost thousands of dollars on the Polymarket platform, unaware that it was not licensed by the state gaming commission. He has filed the suit on behalf of anyone who believes they, too, were misled by the murky legal interpretation.
The plaintiff has asked for a jury trial if, and when, it goes to court.
