For the first time in the online era of New York sports betting, less than $1 billion was wagered in a month.

New Yorkers bet a total of $800.8 million in July, according to numbers released Friday by the New York State Gaming Commission. It’s the fifth month in a row handle fell by nearly $200 million. With baseball the only major sport in full swing, New York — and every other jurisdiction — is in the dog days of an annual Summer betting slowdown.

It should still close out July with the most dollars bet of any state, which New York’s done each month since it launched online sports betting in January 2022.

Most other top states haven’t posted July handles yet. In June New Jersey reported $633 million, while Pennsylvanians wagered $393 million. Last year, betting in those states increased moderately in August after a brutal July.

States should soon be back in full force with the NFL regular season, the most lucrative time of year for sportsbooks, on the horizon.

FanDuel Still on Top

Each of New York’s nine online sportsbooks posted July handles in line with the state’s. Each saw their share of the market drop as well, except for FanDuel, which posted $347 million in handle in July — good for 43% of all dollars bet in the state.

FanDuel has led all operators in bets since launching and hasn’t looked back.

DraftKings was the next closest with $213 million in handle, followed by Caesars at $118 million and BetMGM at $73 million.

Each held earnings calls this week where they announced drastic cutbacks on promotional and marketing spend in the latest quarter.

Flutter Entertainment, which owns FanDuel, should release its Q2 spending report next week ahead of its earnings call.

Bad Bettors Keep Taxes Steady

Despite the $200 million decrease in betting, New York’s taxes were up compared to June — the state’s worst month to date.

The $37 million collected in July was only the state’s second worst month from a tax standpoint. It compounded the drop in betting thanks to sportsbooks winning their highest percentage of bets to date.

Online operators kept nearly 11% of every dollar wagered. Since January’s launch they’ve held about 7% on average every month.