A mammoth number makes U.S. gambling history in a monumental day for New York sports betting.
When residents wake up tomorrow in the Empire State, they will see that the 23-day returns on mobile sports wagering have broken the national record.
Numbers released Friday by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) show that the state's mobile handle from Jan. 8-30 is $1,624,919,978. That figure blows away the previous record for monthly handle, set by New Jersey in October 2021. That month the Garden State handle was $1.303 billion.
The retail sports betting handle at New York's four commercial casinos upstate (Resorts World, del Lago, Rivers and Tioga Downs) added up to nearly $15 million from Jan. 3-30, bringing the state's total to about $1.64 billion. And that does not account for any wagers from Jan. 31.
“When we brought mobile sports betting to New York, we had confidence it was going to be a success, but to be able to break the national record of total handle for sports betting in a single month in our very first month, with primarily only six sportsbooks, is both rewarding and exciting,” said State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., the chair of the New York State Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee. “Breaking this record proves that New York was ready for mobile sports betting and we are providing our state with a new revenue, educational and addiction funding source. It also can give us an indication of where we go from here, especially with the Super Bowl within our sights. The future is extremely bright for mobile sports betting in New York!”
The NYSGC also released a statement: “With Governor Hochul kicking off mobile sports wagering on January 8th, there is no doubt there is strong interest in online sports betting in the Empire State, which has just set a national record for monthly tax revenue. We look forward to a robust landscape of mobile sports wagering for years to come, one that helps to fund education in New York State as well as provide annual awards to sports programs for underserved youth and problem gambling education and treatment.”
Here are three takeaways from the record-breaking moment.
NY Sports Betting: No Little Town Blues
The numbers released on Friday scream “There is a new king in town!”
NEW YORK MOBILE SPORTS BETTING, JAN. 24-30
| Mobile handle | GGR | Taxes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $141,786,622 | Minus-$564,868 | --- |
| Caesars | $128,143,427 | $14,136,472 | $7,209,601 |
| DraftKings | $102,185,797 | $5,347,568 | $2,727,260 |
| BetMGM | $37,503,630 | $710,277 | $362,241 |
| PointsBet | $29,465,195 | $2,336,813 | $1,191,775 |
| BetRivers | $10,229,325 | Minus-$394,458 | ----- |
| Totals | $449,313,997 | $21,571,803 | $11,001,620 |
In addition to the handle number of $1.625 billion, the gross general revenue (GGR) is $113 million and the amount of money to the state in taxes is $57.6 million.
Two things to keep in mind:
The record fell during the time period of Jan. 8-30. Can you imagine how high the number would be if it reflected the first seven days of the new year and the last day of the month?
And how about that tax number? It is a national record that already was set after the numbers came in for the first nine days of betting (Jan. 8-16). The number itself, $57,629,530, is calculated by multiplying the GGR total by 0.51. It doesn’t look like the 51% tax rate has hobbled the operators, though it is the highest in the nation, along with New Hampshire.
When Will the Other Operators Get a Piece of the Pie?
Addabbo lauded the original four operators who got this machine rolling on Jan. 8. They are: Caesars Sportsbook New York , FanDuel New York, DraftKings New York and BetRivers New York.
CUMULATIVE TOTALS, JAN. 8-30
| Mobile handle | GGR | Taxes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caesars | $615,504,344 | $55,887,328 | $28,502,537 |
| FanDuel | $501,791,984 | $23,614,142 | $12,043,212 |
| DraftKings | $367,661,238 | $27,098,781 | $13,820,378 |
| BetMGM | $78,072,899 | $3,224,980 | $1,644,740 |
| BetRivers | $32,424,318 | $837,035 | $426,888 |
| PointsBet | $29,465,195 | $2,336,813 | $1,191,775 |
| Totals | $1,624,919,978 | $112,999,078 | $57,629,530 |
“Our initial numbers over the first few weeks of launch were phenomenal,” Addabbo said. “We did it with only four and the numbers haven’t dipped. It’s a credit to the quality of the product that is being performed.”
BetMGM New York (Jan. 17), PointsBet New York (Jan. 25) and WynnBET (which launched Thursday night) are also taking bets.
The only two of the original nine approved operators that are not taking bets yet are Bally Bet New York and Resorts World New York.
BallyBet will launch sometime in April and a Resorts World New York spokesperson said Tuesday that they are “working to launch as soon as possible.” Resorts World also has been posting notice on Twitter that it is about to launch, so expect it before the Feb. 13 Super Bowl.
It will be interesting to see how it works when all nine operators have launched.
NewYorkBets.com can help at that point, and can do so with the field now. Look to our website on the New York sports betting page for promo codes.
Crazy NFL Season Ends Feb. 13 – What’s Next?
After the Super Bowl on Feb. 13, matching the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., New Yorkers will regroup and set their sights on what’s next in the sports betting world.
Some immediate interest items will include the NHL playoff hunt with the New York Rangers and New York Islanders; the NBA playoff runs for the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, and March Madness.
Also, the first major golf tournament of the year, the Masters, is April 7-10.
And for absolute football fanatics, there is the return and rebirth of the United States Football League (USFL), which expects to kick off April 16.
What about baseball? We’ll address that when the labor lockout ends.
Sportsbook by Sportsbook: How They Fared
Let’s see what the numbers are for the six mobile sportsbooks that operated in New York in January.
 Caesars Sportsbook New York, since Jan. 8, has a handle of $615,504,344 with GGR at $55,887,328 and taxes dished out at $28,502,537.
  FanDuel New York has posted an overall $501.8 million in total handle, $23.6 million in GGR and taxes to the state come in at $12.04 million.
DraftKings New York’s overall handle is $367.7 million. Its GGR is $27.1 million and taxes to the state come in at $13.8 million.
 BetRivers New York has an overall handle of $32.4 million. It also has $837,085 in GGR and taxes to the state come in at $426,888.
  BetMGM New York started on Jan. 17 yet still posted an overall handle of $78.1 million. The GGR for BetRivers was at $3.24 million since Jan. 17 and taxes were at $1.64 million.
PointsBet New York launched on Jan. 25 and posted a handle of $29.5 million, GGR of $2.34 million and sent $1.19 million in taxes to Albany.
