New York Sportsbooks Rake In Record NFL Opening Week Handle

New York sportsbooks enjoyed their strongest NFL season opening week in terms of betting handle in the first week of the new season, ESPN reported. Empire State sportsbooks raked in an eye-watering $595 million worth of bets during the first seven days of NFL action, the highest opening week total since the market was originally regulated. New York Sportsbooks Open with a Strong First Week of NFL The data parsed by ESPN was released by the New York State Gaming Commission and constitutes the highest first-week take since online sportsbooks became regulated in the state in January 2022. The current handle was 13% more than what the 2025 NFL opener week brought in, but sportsbooks had slimmer winnings, with net winnings at $17 million, which was a 44% decline from the previous season, with bettors enjoying richer pickings during the opening frenzy. There were fewer upsets and high-scoring games, which set up bettors’ success, with Caesars Sportsbook lead football trader Joey Feazel adding this for ESPN: “Favorites, overs, and touchdown-scorers combined to create a bettor-friendly trifecta on opening Sunday.” But this is not all, as $40 billion could be wagered with sportsbooks in the United States legally, as per a report by research firm Eilers and Krejcik Gaming. At the same time, there is a new resurgent category- prediction markets- which are also driving steady results. “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,” Eilers and Krejcik Gaming partner emeritus Chris Grove said. Forecasts Are Still Mixed with Prediction Markets in the Mix According to DefiRate.com, Kalshi has accepted $702 million on NFL event contracts in the opening week, marking a 211% gain from last season. FanDuel has also said that the game on Sunday between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants brought in more active customers to its sportsbook than any other regular-season NFL game on Sunday. At the same time, the American Gaming Association (AGA) has sounded an alarm over flattening NFL total handle, cautioning that the emergence of sports event contracts has particularly hurt NFL betting handle overall. AGA expects the 2026 season total to fall flat, however, in terms of the total amount of bets placed with regulated gambling sportsbooks. In the pre-season forecast, AGA noted that this amount should be around $29.5bn, which is barely more than the $29.4bn recorded last season. Despite this, the early numbers are already encouraging, with other independent analysts, including Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, hopeful about the new season in terms of betting activity. Prediction markets will continue to be a contentious subject for traditional sportsbooks, although many have made the switch and are now running event contracts in parallel to their core sports betting offer.