New York’s Climb to the Top of the U.S. Legal Sports Betting Ladder

It has been just over four months since the state of New York updated and modernized its legal sports betting platform to include long-overdue mobile providers. The result has been New York's remarkable ascension up the list of bet-friendly states to an ultimate and seemingly untouchable position at the top.

We have been lucky to receive weekly updates on the handle situation in New York. Every seven days seem to bring a new surprise while providing further proof that New York's legal status as the top sports betting jurisdiction in the country is not in question and likely won't be for the foreseeable future.

What Makes New York Successful

New York's potential as a top-tier legal sports betting destination has never been questioned. New York is currently home to America's fourth-largest population with just over 20 million residents and 10 pro sports teams, many iconic and all with rabid fanbases. The market there was viewed as "ripe for the taking" and the numbers since the Jan. 8, 2022, mobile launch have not disappointed.

What had been long questioned was lawmakers' desire to allow New York to expand, past their four upstate, out-of-the-way retail locations to include robust mobile sports betting options — one that had carried neighbor New Jersey to the top producing state throughout 2021.

It was back at the beginning of 2021 that really saw momentum for the expansion of New York's legal sports betting scene. New York Governor at the time, Andrew Cuomo finally signaled his government's intention to welcome mobile sports betting into his state and therefore allowed it to leave the dark ages with respect to their sports betting industry.

“New York has the potential to be the largest sports wagering market in the United States, and by legalizing online sports betting we aim to keep millions of dollars in tax revenue here at home, which will only strengthen our ability to rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis."

Eye-popping Numbers

We have just passed the 100-day mark since the “rebirth“ of the New York sports betting scene. Eight mobile apps in the state have seen an astounding $5.22 billion in bets flow since Jan. 8, according to the New York State Gaming Commission. $361.3 million in Gross Gaming Revenues (GGR) has been generated for sportsbooks in the state and about $167 million in taxes has been collected for needy state and local coffers.

The month of March saw a slight uptick in month-over-month online wagering activity. $1,644,789,692 was taken in by the state's mobile sports betting providers in March, a $100 million increase from the $1,534,078,894 in February, but about $41.5 million less than the national record that New York set in January, when the state reported a  $1,686,263,898 handle in just over three weeks of operation.

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GGR for March came in at $114.3 million and $58.3 million in taxes was paid to the state by participating New York sportsbooks. March GGR fell just short of January’s record $124.1 million but climbed about $32 million from February’s $82.4 million.

Sports betting numbers for the week of April 4-10 have been released by the New York State Gaming Commission. During that week, an impressive $335.81 million in bets was collected by the state’s sportsbooks, which represents a $23 million increase from the week before. $12.9 million in GGR resulted.

The week’s figures are especially impressive considering there was just one March Madness game on the betting menu. And of course, there was no bread-and-butter NFL action to consider.

Sportsbooks’ Incredible New York Success

New York has provided a bonanza for the eight mobile sportsbooks operating there. The three top producers in the state have combined for a staggering $4.55 billion in bets from Jan. 8 to April 10. FanDuel Sportsbook has taken the lead over from Caesars Sportsbook and has generated $1.96 billion in wagering activity in New York since mobile betting went live in New York ($673 million in March). DraftKings Sportsbook is second since New York’s mobile sport betting launch with $1.3 billion in wagers ($414.5 million in March), while Caesars, which was quickest out of the gate has reported $1.29 billion in bets during their first 100 days of operation in the Empire State ($273.4 million in March).

BetMGM generated $172.7 million in wagers in March, PointsBet $48.4 million, and Rush Street Interactive reported $41.6 million in wagers last month. The week of April 4-10 saw FanDuel alone report $142 million in bets, DraftKings take in $83.5 million, and Caesars rake in $49.3 million in sports bets.

Looking Ahead

New York will continue to be the standard by which all other U.S. jurisdictions measure themselves. The Empire State will also remain the most high-profile state operating in the U.S. market. Caesars made some news with an official sportsbook partnership with the New York Mets last week and BallyBet New York is expected to start taking wagers shortly. More high-profile sponsorship deals will be signed in the state and eventually, more betting providers will be approved.

In the meantime, lawmakers in the state will continue to work on behalf of sportsbooks to lower the national-high 51% tax rate and to bring in more competition for the scene’s eight mobile operators. Tied into Bill A08658 will be new betting options for sportsbooks and the state’s bettors, new rules that would loosen application requirements for other prospective sportsbooks, and the ultimate increase of companies allowed to operate in the bustling New York scene.

Operators like Fanatics and Barstool Sportsbook will be following the developments in New York closely with the intention of getting in on the Empire State sports betting gold rush.

New York’s legal sports betting industry has written quite a story in its four-plus months of operation but in no way is that story over. Many more chapters have yet to be written and your SBR industry news team will be all over the developments.

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