Online casino gambling has not been legalized in New York. It seems, though, to be more a question of when it will become legal, as opposed to if it will happen.
New York has a strong gambling market, with both sports betting and casino gambling available. It only makes sense to add online casinos. The desire to expand gambling exists, as does the ability to regulate and oversee the industry.
If online casino platforms were legalized and regulated in The Empire State, there are a handful of operators that would be expected to lead the pack.
Most sportsbooks in NY operate iGaming in other states
In the latest session of the State Assembly, Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo sponsored legislation to legalize New York online casinos. Unfortunately, S4856 failed to gain budget support. Another iGaming bill will undoubtedly be introduced next year.
There is no indication which gaming operators would offer online casinos in New York if they became legal. Still, it is safe to assume that most of the major players would want a piece of such a potentially lucrative market.
The online casino bill proposed by Addabbo made room to license the eight sportsbooks already operating in New York. In July, those operators took in $962.1 million in wagers. Even though it snapped a streak of 10 straight months of $1 billion or more in bets placed, it was still more money wagered than any other state.
Seven of those eight sportsbooks offer iGaming in other states, which means they already have the infrastructure in place to operate online casinos. Those seven sportsbooks are:
- BetMGM
- BetRivers
- Caesars
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- PointsBet
- WynnBet
Resorts WorldBet is the lone operator that doesn’t currently offer iGaming. In addition, Bally Bet, which had offered an online casino product, went offline this summer and is expected to relaunch later this year.
Which online casino platforms are leading the way in other states?
With many potential online casino operators in New York also running online casinos in other states, there is a lot that can be learned from those ventures.
Connecticut
There are two online casinos active in Connecticut. One is the Mohegan Sun, which is operated by FanDuel. The other is run by DraftKings.
Ever since online casino gambling began in October 2021, DraftKings has led the way in total wagers taken. But FanDuel isn’t far behind
For example, DraftKings has taken in nearly $1.9 billion in wagers through its online casino since May. In that same time, Mohegan Sun has taken in around $1.2 billion.
Delaware
There are three online casino operators in Delaware. Two of them are racetracks, while one is operated by Bally’s, which could also launch an online casino in New York.
Bally’s is typically the second-favorite online casino in Delaware of the three, with Delaware Park leading the way and Harrington’s nipping at Bally’s heels.
In 2023, Bally’s has taken in nearly $83 million in online casino wagers and generated just under $3 million in revenue.
New Jersey
Few online casino markets are as strong as New Jersey’s. No other state is a better indicator for what New York’s online casino industry could evolve into.
New Jersey reported $155.2 million in internet gaming wins in July alone, which brought the year-to-date total to $1.09 billion. That is 14.2% higher than last year’s $951.2 million.
Bally’s and Caesars are two of the eight online casino operators that oversee the 32 casino websites and mobile apps. Neither has had significant traffic in the state yet. Bally’s had just over $6.8 million in internet gaming win in July, which was fifth in the state. Caesars had $8.5 million in the same time span, fourth highest in New Jersey.
There is a key difference between Bally’s and Caesars in New Jersey. Bally’s is constantly growing as an iGaming provider, while Caesars is one of two operators to see its internet gaming win decrease when comparing 2023 to 2022. Bally’s has seen a 138.3% increase, while Caesars has seen a drop of 13.7%.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is another state that could make the argument that it sports the best online casino market in the country. The state has seen over $1 billion in online casino revenue in 2023 so far, which has led to nearly $320 million in tax dollars going to the state.
Already, six of the eight sportsbooks that could quickly launch in New York are operating in some fashion in Pennsylvania.
Hollywood Penn National, the most popular option in Pennsylvania by far, has five different online casino brands on its platform. That list includes DraftKings, BetMGM and PointsBet. Hollywood leads the state with $426 million in revenue in 2023 so far.
BetRivers is one of three online casino brands working under Rivers Philadelphia’s license, which is the second largest operator in the state with over $290 million in revenue in 2023.
Valley Forge, which has FanDuel under its license, is sneaking up on Rivers for the title of second-most popular online casino with just under $207 million in revenue.
Lastly, Caesars is operating under the Harrah’s Philadelphia license. It is sixth in the state in terms of total revenue with just under $35 million.
West Virginia
West Virginia has grown into a hub for online casinos on the East Coast due to the state’s list of online casino brands.
FanDuel, Caesars, BetRivers, BetMGM, DraftKings and PointsBet all have online casinos operating in the state despite West Virginia only legalizing online casinos just three years ago.
WynnBET was also up and running but shut down operations in early-August despite launching its online casino just two months prior.
Seemingly, every month is a new record-breaking month for online casinos in West Virginia. Five of the best months in terms of online casino revenue have come in 2023. And the market shows no signs of slowing.
In July, West Virginia online casino operators generated $14.4 million in revenue, which was the second-best month of all time.
Top sportsbooks would probably lead NY online casino market
If sports betting is used as an indicator for which operators could dominate a future online casino market, the conversation begins with FanDuel NY and DraftKings NY. Each operator takes turns leading the NY market in total handle, and each far exceeds the other available sportsbooks most months.
The titans in the online casino industry are Caesars and BetMGM. Caesars might be the fan favorite for iGaming across the country. It is one of the largest in the world. With a single wallet for both online sports betting and online casino wagering, it already provides a seamless, one-stop product.
BetMGM thrives in the vast number of games it offers. It also features a single wallet for both sports and casino wagering. BetMGM offers more than 400 casino games and over 250 slot machines.
PointsBet is a fascinating part of this because it just sold its US business to Fanatics for $250 million. Fanatics now has access to the New York sports betting market. If Addabbo’s bill is resubmitted and passed, Fanatics would also gain access to a future New York online casino gambling space.