New York’s April sports betting hit $1 billion for the fourth straight month since the market launched on January 8th. On top of that, the Empire State’s overall sports betting handle surpassed $6 billion in that span.
Examining New York’s Sports Betting Handle
New York’s overall sports betting handle has been on a roll since the market launched. Nonetheless, there were some weeks when the weekly handle was bearish due to a lack of events that interested bettors.
For the week ending May 1st, the handle set a low of $295 million. This is the first time the handle was below $300 million in regards to a weekly handle. The last time sportsbook operators combined to accept over $400 million was the week ending March 20th.
Still, the overall handle of $6.27 million since the market launched has resulted in $216.8 million, which the state has collected according to the York State Gaming Commission that released the numbers on Friday.
Once again, FanDuel led the way by accepting $2.38 million in wagers since it all began. Based on sports gambling revenue, the bookmaker has paid $88.9 million in taxes to the state.
Looking at the Market Share for the Top Six Sportsbook Operators
FanDuel has secured the top position in the market. FanDuel accepted approximately $554.9 million in
bets in April, which translates to a market share of 43 percent.
DraftKings has held the third position in terms of the overall handle but had a handle of about $306.7 million in April, which is a solid 22 percent.
Thanks to the excellent marketing campaign, Caesars had a great opening week; however, things have taken a turn for the worse. In April, the bookmaker brought in around $202.3 million as the market share numbers dropped to 16 percent.
BetMGM launched about a week later than the first four operators, which included DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, and BetRivers. In April, the operator took approximately $136.6 million in wagers which is good for 10.5 percent.
PointsBet brought in about $47.3 million in wagers which is situated around 4 percent in terms of market share.
Lastly, BetRivers had a lower handle than PointsBet, with $34.8 million. However, the sportsbook operator had a slightly higher revenue total.
FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars are the only bookmakers in the Empire State that have joined the $1 billion club.
Is iGaming in the Works For New York?
The state has agreed to the terms of opening three more land-based casinos in the New York City area. Even before the launch of online sports betting, four commercial casinos operated in upstate New York.
However, with sports betting continuously posting great results, other gaming initiatives and proposals are looking to be signed into law. State Sen. Joseph Addabbo plans to legalize iGaming in the Empire State. One reason why he is pushing for iGaming is that Connecticut’s residents have access to over 500 casino games.
Connecticut’s online casino revenue outpaces its sports betting handle. He believes the same thing will occur in New York. Addabbo that iGaming will be legalized at some point in the near future.
