After the end of July 2022, New York State has reported slightly better weekly results for mobile sports betting activity, but the monthly trend is heading down. In July, for the first time since the opening of the market, the state failed to generate over US$1 billion in the total monthly handle. As last month’s handle was amassed to only US$800.7 million.
The Empire State’s mobile sports betting market officially opened on January 8, 2022, and it quickly became one of the leading states for online sports wagers in the country. The New York State Gaming Commission has licensed FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook, BetRivers, BetMGM, PointsBet, Resorts WorldBET, WynnBET, and Bally Bet to operate in the market and all of them are up and running now.
Monthly Volume Drops to US$800M
According to the NYSGC, July was the first month that the state has failed to collect over US$1 billion in a monthly handle, since the start of the online sports betting model. In July the state reports US$800.7 million in handle, thus breaking the streak of six months in a row with a total handle of US$1 billion or more.
The July results are a 20% drop from June’s overall handle of US$1.05 billion, despite having an extra day of wagering. But despite the decrease in volume, hold and tax revenue have both enhanced in July. As hold for the month was US$73.3 million, which is slightly better than June’s US$72.4 million. While tax revenue increased from US$36.9M in June to US$37.4M in July.
For the last week of July, the Empire State confirmed that it accumulated US$177.7 million in a weekly handle, which translates to over US$22 million in hold for the operators. The amount is almost double the week prior to that which reported US$12.3 million in hold. These results are much more similar to the ones for the past eight weeks.
Once again, for the month of July, the nine operators were led by FanDuel which amassed the most online wagers with a handle of US$347.7 million. DraftKings was second with a total volume of US$213.5 million, while Caesars Sportsbook was third with US$118.2 million. Fourth place went to BetMGM with US$73.2 million in handle, and BetRivers got to fifth with US$20.3 million in July.
Bally Bet, which is the last operator to go live in the market, and debuted on July 7, 2022, managed to aggregate over US$640,397 in wagers for the month of July. This renders to a hold of US$40,000 and over US20,441 in taxes. In August the operator announced a partnership with the New York Yankees, which will certainly bolster its presence in the region.
iGaming is Also on the Cards
In addition to legalizing mobile sports betting, NY lawmakers also want to introduce iGaming as a legal option. According to a report from VIXIO GamblingCompliance, it is estimated that the Empire State could be bringing around US$428 million every year in revenue after the decriminalization of online blackjack, roulette, and poker for its gambling enthusiasts.
