If New York legalizes NY online casinos, revenue from iGaming could be double that of online sports betting in the state.
Sen. Joe Addabbo, who sponsored New York’s sports betting bill in 2021, promised to work on new legislation to bring online casinos – also called iGaming – to the Empire State.
In most states where both online sports betting and iGaming are legal, online casino revenue has outstripped sports betting revenue by well over 100%.
It is likely that New York online casinos would set national iGaming revenue records if legalized. In just one full year of legal online sports betting, New York became the largest market in the country. As of June 2023, the state had raised $1 billion in tax revenue for education through NY online sports betting taxes.
“We should continue to build upon these solid revenue-generating opportunities in order to make many additional improvements to our state’s gaming ventures and addiction services,” said Addabbo, who is the chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. “I look forward to greater results with the future eventual arrival of iGaming and iLottery in New York.”
Addabbo pushing online lottery in addition to NY online casinos
Sen. Addabbo told PlayNY that he wants to add an online lottery to New York’s online gaming expansion.
“Going forward, this is something I think the state should consider,” Addabbo said. “If you combine iLottery with iGaming, (we are) sitting on top of a billion dollars in revenue.”
While a bill to legalize iGaming did not make it into the budget for 2023, Addabbo says his team will spend the summer “crossing the Ts and dotting the Is” on a new New York online casino and online lottery proposal for 2024.
Online casino revenue in other states
While sports betting has grown rapidly across the U.S. in the past five years, online casinos have yet to catch on with the same urgency.
As of June 2023, only seven states have legalized iGaming: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Except for Delaware, each of these states also allow legal online sports betting as well.
And for most, iGaming revenue has far outpaced mobile sports betting revenue.
Here are the numbers from the states that have online gaming and sports betting, excluding Rhode Island, which has not yet launched online casinos.
| State | iGaming Revenue | Mobile Sports Betting Revenue | Percentage Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | $453,223,723 | $198,183,614 | 128.69% |
| Michigan | $3,329,508,256 | $790,231,840 | 321.33% |
| New Jersey | $6,124,823,030 | $2,441,918,781 | 150.82% |
| Pennsylvania | $4,569,861,326 | $1,545,018,020 | 195.78% |
| West Virgina | $234,934,292 | $153,314,380 | 53.24% |
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