It wasn’t a month in the truest sense of the word, but the first 30 days of mobile New York sports betting have been accounted for and the numbers are bigger, way bigger, than any state has posted before.
On Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that close to $2 billion dollars in wagers were taken during the first 30 days of operation in the state. The figures are much higher than any posted in the United States for a full calendar month. That title had been held by New Jersey, with a handle of $1.303 billion in October 2021.
A brief overview of the numbers shows a mobile sports wagering handle of $1,984,759,532 from Jan. 8-Feb. 6. The total Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) for that time period is $138.5 million and the taxes going to the state come in at $70.6 million. That tax figure would blow away any monthly tax amount in history, in large part because of the state’s high 51% tax rate.
Retail wagering from the state’s four upstate commercial casinos is not accounted for in the mobile figures. Those retail locations combined for $16.54 million in handle for the entire month of January and recorded a loss of $328,829 in revenue. Rivers Casino (No. 1 with a handle of $7.36 million) was the only one of the four to show a profit in GGR, at $81,508.
Here are three key takeaways from the weekly figures and the 30-day totals.
$2B No Longer a Barrier
At this time last year, it would have been impossible to think a state could have a handle of $2 billion in a single month. This wasn’t a true month, as the Jan. 8 start prevented that. It seems fair to say that if the state started on New Year's Day and went through Jan. 31, the number would have been right there, especially adding retail.
NEW YORK MOBILE SPORTS BETTING, JAN. 31-FEB. 6
| Mobile handle | GGR | Taxes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $130,256,763 | $6,632,391 | $3,382,519 |
| DraftKings | $87,253,254 | $8,689,766 | $4,431,781 |
| Caesars | $87,152,547 | $8,770,610 | $4,473,011 |
| BetMGM | $34,260,676 | $443,110 | $225,986 |
| PointsBet | $12,227,944 | $186,059 | $94,890 |
| BetRivers | $8,437,014 | $762,243 | $388,744 |
| WynnBet* | $251,355 | $33,656 | $17,165 |
| Totals | $359,839,553 | $25,517,835 | $13,104,096 |
* -- WynnBet launched on Feb. 4.
It Can’t Be Like This All the Time
January is always a big month for gaming revenue, especially sports betting. This year, you have the entire NFL playoffs leading up to the Super Bowl, college and pro basketball, NHL and many other events.
However, with an off week between the NFL's AFC/NFC championships games and Sunday's Super Bowl, all operators experienced a handle decrease from Jan. 31-Feb. 6, which proves and solidifies that the NFL is sports betting king in New York and all over the country.
It will be fascinating monitoring the handle and tax revenue figures in upcoming months with no NFL action.
CUMULATIVE TOTALS, JAN. 8-FEB. 6
| Mobile handle | GGR | Taxes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caesars | $702,656,891 | $64,657,938 | $32,975,548 |
| FanDuel | $632,048,747 | $30,246,533 | $15,425,732 |
| DraftKings | $454,914,492 | $35,788,546 | $18,252,158 |
| BetMGM | $112,333,575 | $3,668,090 | $1,870,726 |
| PointsBet | $41,693,139 | $2,522,872 | $1,286,665 |
| BetRivers | $40,861,332 | $1,599,278 | $815,632 |
| WynnBet | $251,355 | $33,656 | $17,165 |
| Totals | $1,984,759,532 | $138,516,913 | $70,643,626 |
Who Will Reign as King Operator?
Maybe there will be several kings in New York. After all, Caesars Sportsbook New York came out on top for the 30 days, but FanDuel New York had the highest numbers for the last two weeks. Perhaps some of the bigger opening promotions Caesars was offering waned a bit.
The fifth week of official sports betting in the state was marked by its first decrease in numbers, due in large part to that off week in the NFL before last Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Speaking of promos, make sure to check out NewYorkBets.com for updates and the latest New York sports betting promo codes.
Let’s take a quick look at how the sportsbooks fared.
Caesars Sportsbook New York was tops over 30 days with a handle of $702.65 million during that time frame. For the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 6, Caesars had a handle of $87,152,547, which was down from $128.1 million from Jan. 24-30. Again, this proves the point about the NFL during its down week.
FanDuel New York was No. 1 for the second week in a row with $130,256,763 for Jan. 31-Feb. 6 in mobile handle. That was down from the company’s $141.79 million the week before.
DraftKings New York was second for the week and posted a mobile handle of $87,253,254 million. That was much less than $102.19 million a week before.
BetMGM posted $34.26 million in mobile handle and held steady at fourth overall.
PointsBet New York, which launched on Jan. 25, moved to fifth (weekly and overall) by notching a total handle of $12,227,944 for Jan. 31- Feb. 6.
BetRivers New York posted $8,437,014 in mobile handle for the week. WynnBET launched on Feb. 4 and had a mobile handle for two days at $251,355.
Both Resorts World New York and BallyBet have yet to begin mobile operations in New York.
