The New York sports betting handle continues to go down as the New York State Gaming Commission reported its weekly report on Friday. The sportsbook operators registered to bring in a total of $261.2 million for the week ending on May 22nd.
The Empire State’s Weekly Totals Keep Going Down
For the week ending May 15th, bookmakers accepted $286.2 million in wagers with a hold rate of 10.8 percent. The weekly handle fell below $300 million for the first time since launch, and now the weekly handle ending May 22nd dipped even further.
Bookmakers only had approximately a hold rate of nine percent for the last week. The decrease in its numbers shouldn’t surprise many experts as there are a lack of sporting events that interest bettors across the state.
Over the span of a week, the amount of gross revenue went from $31 million to just $23.8 million. Through the first 15 days of the month, the eight sportsbook operators paid $34.8 million in taxes. For the following week, the Empire State was able to collect $12 million in taxes.
New York and New Hampshire are the only jurisdictions with a tax rate based on revenue of 51 percent. Sportsbooks that conduct business in New York cannot use promotion deductions to bring in more gross revenue for the companies.
Where Did the Bookmakers Rank in Terms of Market Share
FanDuel has undoubtedly become the most famous bookmaker in the sports betting industry. Despite the market having the worst week since the launch began on January 8th, FanDuel reigned at the top
once again. The top four sportsbook operators had weaker handles than the previous week.
FanDuel was the only operator that exceeded the $100 million territory for the week ending May 22nd, as the next competitor didn’t even come close. FanDuel had a handle that surpassed 114.1 million, while DraftKings had a handle that hit about $64.2 million.
Caesars secured the third position with a handle of about $40.6 million. BetMGM rounded out the top four with a sports betting handle of approximately $26.1 million. The other four operators each had a handle that was in the seven-figure range.
Bally Bet still remains on the sidelines as it waits for the approval by the Commission. Bally will have a lot of work to do once it launches it as it will need to capture a good share percentage in the market.
Is the Tax Rate Hefty for Some Sports Betting
A 51 percent tax rate is the highest the industry has to offer. DraftKings believes that the sportsbook will be profitable in three to five years of operation. In contrast, BetMGM has scaled out because it is
expensive to acquire new customers.
The sportsbooks are hoping that the average betting volume for baseball will increase during the summer months. FanDuel is the official sports betting partner of the New York Yankees, and Caesars is the official sports betting partner of the cross-town rivals, New York Mets.
