New York on Track to Become Biggest Betting State After Mobile Sportsbooks Generate $603m Handle

  • New York online sportsbooks generated handle of $603m in their first nine days?
  • Operators saw revenue of $48m in this period, with Caesars the initial market leader
  • New York will become the biggest US betting state if this performance continues
  • New Jersey is the current leading state, securing $1.2bn in handle last December
A hand with one finger pointing up
Based on betting figures after the launch of its mobile market, New York is on track to become the biggest US betting state. [Image: Shuttertstock.com]

Staggering initial results

After little more than two weeks of active online sportsbooks in New York, it appears that the Empire State is on track to become the biggest sports betting market in the US. It has already reported the best opening launch month for online wagering in US history.

Bettors set up more than 1.2 million sportsbook accounts

The state’s four online sportsbooks that launched on January 8 managed to generate total handle of $603m by January 16. In less than two weeks, New York’s handle surpassed the amount generated by most other online betting states for the full month. Bettors set up more than 1.2 million sportsbook accounts over the first week of launch.

According to figures released by the New York Gaming Commission on Friday, online operators generated revenue of $48m over the nine-day period. If the revenue continues at the same rate, it would reach $2.2bn for the year, with betting handle of $27.5bn. This would likely see New York become the biggest state for sports betting.

Plenty of tax revenue

Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetRivers all went live on launch day in New York. Meanwhile, BetMGM launched its online sportsbook on January 17, and four more plan to go live in the near future. For the first nine days, Caesars earned the crown of market share leader with $257.7m handle and $22.7m in gross revenue. FanDuel’s handle reached $200m, while DraftKings took in $134m, and BetRiver just $10.6m.

New York is the most populated state to have legal online sportsbooks up and running. Only California, Texas, and Florida are more populous, and none of them have opened the door to mobile sports betting just yet.

The state is set to benefit greatly from a legal online sports betting sector, with sportsbooks required to pay a 51% tax on revenue. This means that in the first nine days of online sports betting, the state received tax revenue of about $24m. This is in addition to the $200m worth of licensing fees that the state has already bagged.

Market dominance looks inevitable

Based on these figures, it appears New York could soon take the sports betting crown from neighboring New Jersey. The Garden State has had online sportsbooks since June 2018, so a significant number of New Yorkers had previously crossed state lines to place sports bets. This accounted for approximately 20% of New Jersey’s total handle each month.

Retail sportsbooks have operated in upstate New York casinos since 2019. However, they have not proven very successful due to their location.

Before New York entered the mix, Nevada and New Jersey had cemented their places as leaders of the betting market. They have both recorded monthly handles of more than $1bn in recent months. In December, New Jersey’s betting handle reached $1.2bn. However, New York has now reached half that monthly total in just nine days.

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