The month of February 2023, has been a strong one in terms of sports betting revenue for New York State. On Tuesday, the New York State Gaming Commission issued its monthly report which confirmed that for the month, the state secured US$108.2 million in online sports wagering revenue. This number is boosted by the Super Bowl LVII which attracted plenty of interest.
Empire Stateās mobile sports betting market is relatively new as officially launched operations in January 2022. It accommodates a total of nine private sportsbooks, which during the first year, managed to bring in more than US$700 million in betting proceeds for the state. Furthermore, the state secured another US$200 million from licensing of betting operators.
Solid But Still Lower Numbers
This week, the NYSGC reported that in February 2023, the nine digital bookmakers claimed US$108.2 million in sports betting revenue. However, this number is still less than the previous five months, as for the first time the state does not reach US$140 million in monthly revenue. For comparison, the state recorded US$149 million in January 2023.
Meanwhile, total recorded betting activity has also dropped in February, as it was down 18.1% from the previous month. Januaryās total wagering handle reached US$1.8 billion while in February hit US$1.47 billion with a hold of 7.4% for operators. But despite the drop in handle, it was still the eight-highest monthly candle across the country and other markets.
Furthermore, with the US$108.2 million in proceeds, the state pocketed around US$55.3 million in tax revenue for February. This volume put the overall for the year to US$131.5 million. It should be mentioned that tax revenue for the first two months of 2023 is US$26.1 million better than the first two months of 2022. Meanwhile, the handle is just 1.7% higher in comparison to last year.
There were no surprises in operatorsā performances as in February, FanDuel kept its top spot in the market. The company handled US$591 million of the monthly wager at a hold of 9.1%. Meanwhile, second-place DraftKings recorded $491.3 million in total betting volume and US$33.5 million in revenue. Caesars Sportsbook was third with a US$192.8 million handle and US$8.5 million in proceeds.
However, after the modest numbers in February, this month, March Madness is around the corner which will likely return the volume. New York has already started March on a strong foot, as for the week ending on March 7, the nine sportsbooks reported US$410 million in wagers. This translated to gross gaming revenue of US$25.8 million and a hold of just 6.3%.
iGaming Does Not Make the Cut
After the success of mobile sports wagering, New York lawmakers were looking into the legalization of online casino games in the Empire State. However, this will not transpire in 2023, as the item was left out of New York Assembly and Senateās one-house budget proposals. Proponents of the change, such as Sen. Joe Addabbo say this will not be the last push for it in the near future.
