Connecticut Surpasses $200 Million in Sports Bets for the First Time in November

The well-established theme of increased sports betting activity in participating U.S. jurisdictions extended to Connecticut in November. The state's providers, including some of our best sportsbooks, set new highs in overall sports wagering activity for a month.

Bettors in the Nutmeg State, like in all other participating U.S. legal states, took advantage of Connecticut sportsbook promos and a complete catalog of sporting action from the NFL, college football, the NBA, and the NHL during the month and took the state’s monthly handle over the $200 million mark for the first time.

Following another theme of low November hold rates for U.S.-based sportsbooks, bettors also fared well against the legal Connecticut sports betting providers. According to the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection report, betting sites saw month-over-month declines in profits. Needy state and local tax coffers also saw lower contributions from November’s sports wagering activity.

$205.5 million handle for Connecticut

Sports bettors took the state’s legal sports betting handle to the $205.5 million mark in November, easily smashing the previous monthly haul for Connecticut sports betting apps and its retail providers.

The November figure represents an 8.5%  month-over-month jump from the $189.4 million spent in October and is just over $40 million better than the $165 million that Connecticut sports betting sites took in during November 2022.

Connecticut sports betting apps made up 93% of the total sports wagering activity in the state in November.

Low hold keeps profits down

Bettors in the broad U.S. legal sports betting industry have seen success in November, and the  Nutmeg State was no different. Connecticut sports betting apps couldn’t escape month-over-month drops in revenues despite a spike in overall wagering activity.

Connecticut sportsbook win rate in November fell to 6.3%, its lowest rate since February 2022. The hold rate was 10.5% in October and 10.8% in November 2022.

As a result, Connecticut sportsbook profits dropped both month-over-month and year-over-year. Tax contributions also failed to impress during November.

Changes don’t result in much change

There are just three Connecticut online sportsbooks in operation. November saw one of the three, PlaySugarHouse, take action for the last time for a full month in the Nutmeg State. Fanatics took over from the underwhelming brand on December 18.

It was a typical battle between FanDuel and DraftKings that stole the revenue headlines for November in Connecticut. FanDuel Connecticut rebounded after two straight months of second-place finishes and generated a state-high $90.4 million in bets. DraftKings Connecticut finished a close second with $89.3 million in November wagers.

PlaySugarHouse, which held a partnership with the state’s Lottery, consistently finished far behind the two betting behemoths in Connecticut. The company produced just $12.7 million in November wagers.

Fanatics Sportsbook Connecticut will have its work cut out to better the PlaySugarHouse market share. That said, Fanatics has poured many resources into the jurisdictions where it has a presence and brings a very good Rewards Program to state bettors.