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.
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.
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.
