On Jan. 8, New York passes the one-year mark of the state’s launch of NY mobile sports betting.
The Empire State was far from the first market to launch after the Supreme Court decision paved the way in 2018. But in less than one month, the NY online sports betting market was by far the largest in the United States.
“We knew we would be a huge market, but this surpassed everything we expected. We broke records from the start, and now we’re the No. 1 market with just nine sportsbooks,” NY Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr., told New York Sports Day.
As we pass the one-year mark, we’re looking back on a year of record-breaking revenue and looking forward to what might happen in the next year for New York gaming.
New York’s Record-Breaking Sports Betting Revenue
New York vaulted past the $15 billion mark in betting handle in the early days of December. By the end of the year, the number of total dollars wagered in the state had surpassed $15.8 billion. Gross gaming revenue topped $1.3 billion, which showered nearly $680 million in tax revenue onto the state.
As of Dec. 25, 2022, New York had pulled in:
- $15,871,325,577 in total handle
- $1,332,610,358 in gross gaming revenue
- $679,631,282 in tax revenue
And that’s with nine New York online sportsbooks operating, compared to nearly two dozen in New Jersey and 14 in Pennsylvania.
By comparison, through the end of November, New Jersey had pulled in $675 million in sports wagering revenue compared to New York’s $1.217 billion. Pennsylvania trailed both with $22.6 million in gross revenue.
Which NY Sportsbooks Came Out on Top?
FanDuel NY was the clear winner at nearly $6.4 billion in total wagers, ahead of DraftKings NY and Caesars NY.
BetMGM, which launched two weeks after the other three, came in last but still surpassed $1.3 billion in total dollars wagered in the sportsbook.
Here’s how the top four New York sportsbooks stacked up by the end of 2022:
- FanDuel NY: $6.39 billion handle — $641 million GGR
- DraftKings NY: $4.4 billion handle — $343 million GGR
- Caesars Sportsbook NY: $2.75 billion handle — $211 million GGR
- BetMGM NY: $1.3 billion handle — $79 million GGR
What to Expect in Year Two of Legal Sports Betting in New York
New York is likely to continue dominating the mobile sports betting market. But what about new gaming legislation for 2023?
New York Sports Day spoke with Senator Addabbo about the New York legislature’s plans for the coming year.
“The big question now, a year later, is how do we sustain that No. 1 position in the nation? That’s what the budget season is for,” Addabbo said.
With sports betting and other forms of gaming on the rise in the US, New York may see significant changes in the coming year.
New Casinos in New York City
As we’ve covered extensively, New York has slotted licenses for three new retail casinos for downstate New York, i.e., in the New York City area.
The city began formally soliciting bids for the three casinos on Jan. 3. The asking price? $500 million just for the license.
The most likely locations are Coney Island, Times Square, Hudson Yards, or Citi Field. Resorts World New York City in Queens and Empire City Casino in Yonkers have also expressed interest in the bid.
Online Casinos (iGaming)
Senator Addabbo says he is pushing for iGaming as the next big thing for New York gaming after the massive success of NY mobile sports betting.
“We got billions of dollars during Covid from the federal government, but that fund is dried up now. So how do you recoup those billions of dollars? iGaming is staring you in the face,” Addabbo said.
In states where both online sports betting and online casinos are legal, iGaming revenues can surpass sports betting by two times or more. In 2021, sports betting produced $560 million in revenue across 30 states, while iGaming totaled $970 million in just six states.
“iGaming numbers will eclipse the numbers of sports betting. I’m confident we’ll blow the mobile sports betting numbers out of the water,” Addabbo said.
Don’t Expect to See More Sportsbooks…Yet
With the focus on getting NY online casinos passed in the state legislature this year, adding more sportsbook licenses is not a priority.
Addabbo says he doesn’t see a need to increase the number of sportsbooks right now. Lawmakers also don’t plan to lower the unusually high 51% tax rate on NY online sports betting. (By comparison, New Jersey’s tax rate is 14.25%.)
New York’s sports betting tax revenue for the past year supports early childhood and elementary education. In the coming fiscal year, a small percentage will go to sports programs for “underserved youth” and problem gaming prevention and treatment.
“Let someone make the argument that we need to expand sportsbooks or reduce the tax rate and how or why that makes fiscal sense for New Yorkers,” Addabbo said. “Does it make the product better? Does it help New Yorkers? Where we sit at No. 1, you can’t argue that it’s not the number one product in the country.”
AP Photo/Corey Sipkin