It seems that the cooldown in New York’s mobile sports wagering could be coming to a close, as the state closes July 2023 on a strong foot. For the month, the handle decreased for the fourth month in a row. However, these numbers were a hefty improvement over July 2022, as on a year-over-year basis, volume upped by 20% while revenue spiked by 43%.
The Empire State is one of the jurisdictions in the U.S. that operate legal online sports betting sectors, and its initiative has been quite successful since its launch in January 2022. In its first year alone, the digital market delivered just over US$700 million in tax revenue from wagers, which will be invested by the state into education, youth sports, and battling problem gambling.
Volume Still Lower than June’s Tally
Last week, the New York State Gaming Commission, which monitors and oversees the local sector, issued its numbers for July 2023. The eight active sportsbooks generated a total wagering handle of US$962.1 million in July, which was a decrease from the previous month of June 2023 with US$1.16 billion. This translated into a 17% decrease in month-over-month results.
Meanwhile, the handle for July transformed into around US$105.1 million in gross gaming revenue, which was 2% more than the previous month. Mobile sportsbooks had a hold of 10.9%, while the Empire State raked in US$53.6 million in taxes, while sportsbooks took in net profits of US$51.5 million, after the state’s 51% tax rate.
In terms of operators, in July 2023, FanDuel was still king of the hill, as it generated the largest betting volume at US$384.6 million and revenue of US$41.09 million. DraftKings was in second with a handle of US$340.4 million and almost the same proceeds at US$41.08 million. Caesars Sportsbooks got US$111.1 million in bets and witnessed a revenue spike to US$10.6 million.
It seems the summer cooldown in betting volume could be over, as for the week ending on August 6, 2023, DraftKings disclosed US$25.1 million in revenue, which is the highest for a week since it debuted in the state back in January 2022. Its rival FanDuel also produced good numbers for the week, as it recorded US$4 more million in wagers from the past week and US$12.2 million in revenue.
Latest from the Local Sector
At the start of August 2023, the New York State Gaming Commission rejected a commenter’s request to change Daily Fantasy Sports rules to allow pick ’em-style player games. In the August 2, 2023, register update, the gambling watchdog’s argument was daily fantasy sports contests which are similar to prop bets are essentially sports betting.
Prior to that, New York heard a proposal from assemblymember Jarett Gandolfo to legalize Super Bowl Square pools at bars and restaurants in the state by pitching two bills. The first legislation, Bill A6890, states that it would pave the way for legalizing pool selling, which the state constitution currently forbids, while the other, Bill A6880, would legalize pool selling.
Source: Senkiw, Brad “July Sports Betting Revenue Spikes 43% Year-Over-Year in New York” Covers, August 10, 203