New York’s mobile sports betting market is entering 2023 the same way it ended 2022, on the right foot. Recent reports from the New York State Gaming Commission, find that for the week concluded on January 8, 2023, sportsbooks have registered around US$401 million in online wagering handle. This was a slight decrease from the previous week, but still impressive volume.
January 8, 2023, also coincided with the first-year anniversary of the Empire State’s mobile sports betting model. The new market allows for a total of nine online sportsbooks to offer and accept wagers on sporting events. Despite its infant age, the market quickly transformed into the top online jurisdiction in the state, bringing more than US$700 million in tax revenue for its first year.
Bullish Start of 2023
In its weekly reports, the New York State Gaming Commission disclosed that for the first full week of 2023 that ended on January 8, 2023, the nine sportsbooks contributed to a total wagering handle of US$401,206,206. It should be noted that this was a slight decrease in comparison to the week concluding on January 1, 2023, when operators collected US$410,817,431.
Gross gaming revenue for the first full week of the new year, however, spiked in comparison to the prior week. According to the NYSGC, for the week of January 8, 2023, the total handle of US$401 million has translated to revenue of US$29,921,451. This amount is significantly higher than the prior week reported by operators GGR of US$23,925,229. Proceeds are taxed at 51%.
Even with the start of the new calendar year, there have been no changes in operator standings. For the first week of 2023, FanDuel is still leading the charts, and the sportsbook handle the largest amount of betting volume with US$158,423,854. This handle amounted to US$15,613,884 in gross gaming revenue, which will be taxed at 51% by the state.
DraftKings was still the second most popular app with a weekly betting volume of US$ $142,489,698, which rendered into US$10,322,869 in pre-tax proceeds. Caesars Sportsbook was the third preferred choice with US$51,689,067 in handle and US$1,670,892, while BetMGM was again fourth with US$27,567,186 in wagering activity and US$1,158,286 in GGR.
Potential Changes to the Sector
Despite the successful to say the least first year of mobile sports betting, Empire State legislators believe that the online market can be improved. Last week, democrats Luis R. Sepúlveda and Leroy Comrie introduced a bill that would require gambling and sports betting ads to feature warnings about the possible negative effects of gambling and a problem gambling hotline.
A week later, New York’s Senator Joe Addabbo proposed legislation which if approved would boost the number of online bookmakers in the jurisdiction. His Bill S1962 would have 14 online bookmakers by January 31, 2024, and 16 operators by January 31, 2025. The addition of new operators would allow the state to decrease the controversial 51% tax rate.
Source: “Mobile Sports Wagering”, New York State Gaming Commission, January 2023
