New York State has now reached another important milestone with its new mobile sports betting market. Last week, the office of Governor Kathy Hochul announced that in less than six months, the new market has contributed over US$300 million in tax revenue for the state, which will be now reinvested into education, youth sports, and problem gambling prevention and more.
The Empire State’s online sports betting market for private operators launched on January 8, 2022, and it allows nine gaming entities to offer their sports betting products online to locals. As of last week, all of the nine brands have gone live. Since its opening, the state quickly transformed into one of the largest markets in the country and has reached more than six billion in total handle.
Exceeding Expectations
On Friday, Gov. Hochul revealed that after six months of work, the Empire State’s mobile sports wagering platform has surpassed every other state. In addition to that, the market has also outperformed the Budget’s FY 2022 revenue projections. According to the New York State Gaming Commission the program has generated over US$302 million in tax revenue since the January launch.
The Governor stated that just in six months New York has become the leader among other jurisdictions that have also implemented gaming policies. In her words, the market will provide key financing for education, youth sports programs, as well as problem gambling counsel. She is now looking forward to continuing responsible gambling policies that secure entertainment for locals of legal age.
Reports confirm that the Empire State has a larger mobile sports wagering volume in six months than the total sports wagering revenue across any other state for the last several years. This includes retail and online sports betting. Through May 2022, Pennsylvania generated more than US$265.6 million in sports wagering tax revenue since November 2018, while New Jersey has collected US$237.1 million since June 2018.
A software geolocation company, GeoComply, has recently confirmed that more than 2.9 million unique player accounts since the kick-off of the local market. Thus, conducting more than 707 million in transactions. For 2023 FY and after that, revenue from the online market will be delivered as follows: US$5 million for sports programs for youths, US$6 million to fund problem gambling, and the remaining going to education.
Market Update
Last week, the Empire State’s ninth sportsbook app, Bally Bet, finally made its debut in the online market. There has been no official statement from the company yet, however, a local provided a screenshot from the company’s app which he was able to download and bet on the New York Yankees. It remains to be seen how it will perform in the jurisdiction.
In the meantime, FanDuel is way ahead of its New York peers, as the sportsbook dominated the market in terms of handle and revenue. According to reports from the NYSGC, for the week that ended on June 26, 2022, the app collected US$101 million of the total handle of US$218 million. DraftKings was second with US$52 million, followed by Caesars Sportsbook with US$33,064,983.
Source: “Governor Hochul Announces New York State’s Record Setting Mobile Sports Wagering Tax Revenue”, NY Gov, July 8, 2022
