This month, New York State celebrates a special occasion, as the local mobile sports betting market kicked off operations exactly a year ago. In its debut year, the Empire State smashed the record for an annual mobile sports betting handle, as it reported US$16.2 billion. The previous high was set by New Jersey in 2021 with US$10.9 billion.
New York officially open the digital gates of its mobile sports betting market on January 8, 2022, with four sportsbooks. Later in the year, all nine bookmakers went online and started to accept wagers online. However, they are taxed at 51% on their winnings, meaning that the state has one of the highest tax rates among its U.S. state counterparts.
First Year in Numbers
In December 2022, the Empire State revealed that the December handle hit US$1.62 billion, which was its highest monthly tally since March 2022. It was also the tenth consecutive month in which betting volume exceeded U$1 billion. Meanwhile, for last year, the state reported US$1.36 billion in gross gaming revenue, yet another record in the country.
It should be explained that after tax, the US$1.36 billion in GGR translated to another record. This time of all-time tax revenue for a state in a year, with US$693 million. This smashed right through the prediction of US$500 million, by former Governor Andrew Cuomo. These numbers are even more impressive, as the state operates with a limited model of just nine sportsbooks.
In terms of operators and their performance, the state saw the domination of FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook which accounted for 96% of the total GGR and 93.3% of the full handle. FanDuel was the leading app with US$650 million, which is an astonishing 48% of the market share pre-tax. The company also had a total handle of US$6.5 billion in 2022.
DraftKings was second with GGR of US$354 million or 26% portion of the total and US$4.5 billion in betting volume. Caesars Sportsbook came in third with a GGR of US$215 million or 16% of the market and US$2.8 billion in handled wagers. BetMGM was fourth with US$81 million in GGR or 6% of the market share and a handle of US$1.3 billion.
Exploring Online Gambling as an Option
After the huge success of mobile sports betting, New York’s legislature is also looking into further developing its gambling industry by legalizing online casino games. A while back, state Sen. Joe Addabbo vowed that it would make iGaming a top priority in the discussions for the 2023-2024 fiscal budget. Talks about the budget should start soon.
According to a report by VIXIO GamblingCompliance, the legalization of online gambling in the Empire State could be quite fruitful for the state economy. The report estimates that the new vertical would be bringing around US$428 million every year. It is also believed it could quickly overshadow mobile sports betting, as it is something quite common in other legal jurisdictions.
