The New York sports betting market continues its record-setting launch. The New York State Gaming Commission reported its monthly handle and revenue totals on Thursday.
The Record for Best Launch Month Belongs to the Empire State
The record-breaking month technically does not cover the enter month as the launch date was on January 8th. Six of the nine sportsbooks launched in the first month, and some operators were not able to offer their products and services until weeks later.
Gov. Kathy Hochul went on record applauding the achievement. Retail and mobile sportsbooks combined to bring in a total of $1.686 billion. Sportsbook operators also combined to pay $63.2 million in taxes, which notes a gross revenue of $123.1 million. Sportsbooks that conduct business in the Empire State are subject to 51 percent taxes on revenue.
The taxes the state receives from these providers will be going to good use. As shown on the fiscal taxes, 98 percent of the money generated will go towards funding education throughout the state. The other two percent will be evenly distributed to youth sports and gambling education and treatment.
The sports betting handles figures for the first month of operation are just astonishing, to say the least. Neighboring state New Jersey was seen as the role model state for the entire industry for a long time. New York’s first 23-day total for the month was approximately 336 million higher than the $1.35 billion New Jersey reported earlier this week.
Sportsbooks that Found the Most Success for the First Month of Operation
Launching ahead of the NFL playoffs certainly boosted the average betting volume for the state as mobile sportsbooks were able to market their platforms to potential customers with risk-free bets, deposit bonuses, and other types of promotions.
Caesars was the top sportsbook for the month as at the beginning of the month; the operator offered the biggest risk-free promotions out of the four sportsbooks that were the first to launch, which also included FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetRivers.
Caesars’ total handle was slightly over $627.4 million, which translates to a market share of 37.2 percent of the market share and 47.9 percent of the market’s revenue. FanDuel started trimming Caesars’ lead as it picked up more market share towards the end of the month, bringing the total to approximately $517.5 million or 30.7 percent. FanDuel also had 22.8 percent in revenue share.
DraftKings launched with similar promotional offers to competitor FanDuel. DraftKings accumulated a handle of just about 378 million, which only made up to 22.4 percent of the overall market share. However, despite being behind in that category, the operator had a revenue share of 24 percent.
BetMGM launched on January 17th and had a handle of approximately $82.2 million. BetRivers followed with about $33.5 million. PointsBet, which launched on the 25th, was barely behind with a handle close to $31.2 million.
The Future
The sports betting will be looking towards February with the launch of WynnBet. WynnBet is currently on sale and is looking to get bought out by another sportsbook. BallyBet is set to go live later this year, with a set launch date set for sometime in April.
The Super Bowl numbers should make up a huge portion of the handle for the Empire State. However, it will be interesting to see if the shortest month of the year will play a factor in the overall handle for next month.
