Bettors wagered approximately $595 million with New York sportsbooks in Week 1 of the NFL season, the most for an opening week since the state launched online betting in 2022, according to revenue numbers released Thursday.
The amount bet is the sixth highest for any week in the state's history and represents a nearly 13% increase from last year's NFL opening week, according to the New York State Gaming Commission.
Though the amount wagered increased, the sportsbooks' net win dipped to approximately $17 million, down 44% from Week 1 last season, as bettors capitalized on a lack of upsets and high-scoring games with lots of touchdowns.
"Favorites, overs, and touchdown-scorers combined to create a bettor-friendly trifecta on opening Sunday," Joey Feazel, lead football trader for Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN.
New York is the nation's largest sports betting market by amount wagered and one of only two states (West Virginia) that reports weekly revenue numbers.
New York's record opening week comes while prediction markets continue to grow in popularity. Leading prediction market Kalshi saw nearly $702 million traded on the NFL in Week 1, a 211% year-over-year increase, according to DefiRate.com, an independent site that tracks prediction markets.
The figure grows to over $1 billion when including NFL combos, multicontract trades that mimic traditional parlays.
The Sunday night primetime game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants attracted the most volume Sunday at Kalshi, with $112.8 million traded. DraftKings said that game was also the largest event on its prediction market and the most heavily bet at its sportsbook.
FanDuel said it had more active customers on its sportsbook Sunday than any other NFL regular-season Sunday.
GeoComply, which provides geolocation services for most of the U.S. sports betting industry, said it tracked a record 8,619 transactions per second with sportsbooks Sunday.
The big opening Sunday boosted expectations for the NFL season. Research firm Eilers and Krejcik Gaming estimates $40 billion will be staked on the NFL with sportsbooks and prediction markets in the U.S. this season.
"I would expect betting and trading to be a ubiquitous presence this NFL season as brands battle with billions at stake across the entire U.S. market," said Chris Grove, partner emeritus with Eilers and Krejcik Gaming.