The summer is usually a slow period for mobile sports wagering, but the latest reports from the New York State Gaming Commission, confirm an increase in weekly volume. For the week ending on July 9, 2023, the nine interactive sportsbooks recorded an 11.7% week-over-week spike in handle. This was also a 25% improvement on the same week in 2022.
The Empire State offers legal mobile sports betting since January 8, 2022, when several operators were allowed to start offering and accepting bets online. In its first 12 months, the market quickly became the number one in the U.S. and it delivered over US$700 million in tax revenue from wagering, as well as another US$200 million from licensing fees.
Betting Volume Goes Up
On Friday, July 14, 2023, the NYSGC issued its latest number from the mobile sports betting market. Its report confirmed that for the week ending on July 9, 2023, the nine sportsbooks disclosed a betting volume of US$238 million. This means that the overall weekly handle has failed to surpass the US$300 million mark for the seventh week in a row.
In terms of revenue, the market saw a decrease of 12% from the prior week and a 15.5% drop from the same week in 2022. For this year, the gross gaming proceeds were US$22.8 million. This translated to a hold of 9.6% for operators which was significantly lower than the 11.9% from the previous week. Profits remained above US$20 million for the sixth consecutive week.
The week ending on July 9 saw FanDuel reclaim its top spot, as the operator generated US$94.7 million from the total sportsbook handle for the week. The locally-based platform reported US$10.7 million in pre-tax winnings. Meanwhile, its top rival DraftKings disclosed a betting volume of US$81.8 million with US$7.8 million in gross gaming proceeds.
Caesars Sportsbook collected the third-largest handle of the week with US$28.7 million, and revenue of US$2.1 million. BetMGM was in fourth with betting activity of US$17.9 million and a profit of US$1.1 million. It should be mentioned that the operators’ winnings are taxed at 51% by the state, which is one of the steepest tax rates in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Bally Bet was the only one of the nine operators to report nothing in handle and revenue for the week. This is due to the fact that the sportsbook suspended operations in New York and other states on June 30, 2023. Now, the company will use the downtime to make some improvements to its player experiences, as a way of trying to catch up to its competitors.
Regulator Vows to Regulate Ads
It should be mentioned, that the increase in popularity of sports betting over the last year and a half has raised some concerns about the influx of wagering ads by operators. NYSGC’s Chairman Brian O’Dwyer shared that it will soon have a decision on commercials and ads in the state. It also praised universities and colleges for concluding partnerships with sportsbooks.
