New York Touts US$1.5B Sports Betting Volume in April

New York has seen another busy month of online sports betting, as in April 2023, the state recorded a total wagering handle of over US$1.54 billion. According to the New York State Gaming Commission which governs the market, this handle translated into US$70.8 million in tax revenue for the state. Thus, putting the total tax revenue to US$985 million since launch.

Launched in January 2022, the Empire State’s online market for sports betting allows for a total of nine sportsbooks to offer and accept digital wagers on various sporting events. The groundwork for the sector by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and tax revenue from it is used to support education, youth sports teams, and tackling problem gambling.

More than US$1.5B in April

For April 2023, the NYSGC reported a total betting volume on sports of US$1.54 billion or US$70.8 million in tax revenue for the state. This was 13% lower than March’s total volume of US$1.79 but then New Yorkers had March Madness to wager on. Still, April 2023 was an 11% improvement over the same month last year, when the handle hit US$1.47 billion.

It should be mentioned that the state’s nine online sports wagering platforms recorded US$139.2 million in revenue before tax, which was a 31.9% year-over-year increase. They are taxed at the hefty 51% which is among the highest rates in the country. Meanwhile, for April operators had a hold of 8.9% which was only slightly lower than the 9.1% in March 2023.

There were no surprises when it came to operators’ performances last month, with FanDuel stacking the largest handle with US$626.3 million. This volume transformed into US$71 million in gross gaming proceeds and an 11.3% hold for the local operator. DraftKings was second with US$516.4 million in handle, pre-tax revenue of US$44.9 million and a hold of 8.7%.

Third place was again reserved for Caesars Sportsbook and the company accumulated a handle of US$185.3 million with revenues of approximately US$12.8 million. BetMGM generated a volume of US$126.7 million and a hold of 5.6%. Meanwhile, Resort WorldBET recorded a mere win rate of 0.9% with a monthly handle of US$7.9 million.

Potential Changes to the Sector

But with the success of the online sports betting market, there have been concerns about its potential negative effect on gamblers. That is why recently the NYSGC voted in favour of regulating sports wagering advertising, marketing, and promotion. The regulator’s new protocols will now ban sports betting ads on college and university campuses.

Earlier in 2023, democrats Luis R. Sepúlveda and Leroy Comrie came up with legislation to include warnings about the negative side of gambling in ads. Bill S1550 would require all gambling and sports betting commercials in the state to include warnings about possible negative effects. It would also require all advertisements to feature the New York problem gambling hotline number 1-877-8-HOPENY.

Source: Senkiw, Brad “New York Blows By $1 Billion Sports Betting Handle Once Again in April” Covers, May 11, 2023