According to the latest reports from the New York State Gaming Commission, the first half of May 2022 has been rather slow for the state’s mobile sports betting market. Most recent reports confirm that for the week that ended on May 15, 2022, the total online sports wagering handle has hit US$286.2 million. So far, this is the lowest amount for a single week since launch.
The Empire State’s new online sports betting market for licensed operators officially started on January 8, 2022, with four operators going live on an opening day. Over time, more and more operators joined, and they are now eight that offer sports betting online in the state, with only one more expected to arrive soon.
No Major Sporting Events
The slowing down of the market can be explained by the lack of major sporting events as previously New Yorkers had the Super Bowl in February and recently March Madness. Despite the lower handle of US$286.2 million, the state still received a hefty portion of the revenue in the size of US$31 million in sports betting proceeds.
Despite the fewer betting options, operators still have to pay a heavy tax to the state, as the market has a tax rate of 51% with no promo deductions. For the first 15 days of this month, the eighth operators have paid over US$34.8 million in taxes. And since the launch, local operators have already spent US$250 million on wagering taxes.
For the first 15 days of May 2022, FanDuel was once more the leader in terms of handle and revenue as it generated US$287,559,996 in bets and US$38,343,434 in income. This accounts for a 13.3% hold of the market. DraftKings is second with a volume of US$161,215,154 in wagers, and the second-most revenue of US$14,278,561. Caesars Sportsbook is third with a US$104,087,294 handle and US$7,556,840 in revenue.
BetMGM got to fourth in terms of handle for the first 15 days with a total of US$65,866,305 and US$4,516,915 in before-tax profits. PointsBet is fifth with an online betting volume of $22,841,953 and US$1,531,274 in revenue. BetRivers sits in sixth place, while WynnBET and the most recently launched Resorts WorldBET are respectively seventh and eighth.
Currently, the ninth operator which is yet to go online in the state’s mobile sports betting market is Bally Bet. Previously, the company informed that it will launch in April, but that did not concur. CEO of the company Lee Fenton announced that the integration will happen before the end of this Q2. This was due to the fact that the company was focused on other markets.
Almost Double in Commercial Gaming Revenue
Last week, the American Gaming Association posted its annual edition of the “State of the State” report. The study discovered that New York has doubled its commercial gaming revenue in 2021 over 2020. Total revenue for 2021 for the Empire State is US$2.71 billion across its 12 non-tribal commercial casinos. Gaming tax revenue has also risen to an impressive US$1.1 billion.
