The arrival of mobile betting in New York is momentous for the industry. Overnight, the Empire State became the largest market in the country, and the numbers from the first weekend show its performance living up to expectation.
According to data from GeoComply, in just 12 hours, New York became the top state in the country for sports betting. Its volume of bets – 5.8 million in total – saw it have the biggest debut by far. It was, In fact, a debut that was over twice the size of the previous record holder, Pennsylvania.
A simple comparison to the next most popular states gives the observer a visceral understanding of the size of the New York market. While it had almost 6 million bets, the next state, Pennsylvania had only 2.3 million. And it was down from here (New Jersey, 2.1 million; Michigan, 1.6 million; Illinois, 1.1 million; Arizona, 1 million).
Four operators – Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive – were granted licenses last week to accept bets in the state. They met this opportunity with massive promotional efforts. Caesars customers, for instance, received a US$3,000 deposit match, a US$300 sign-up bonus, as well as a free NBA jersey. Such promotions help sportsbooks gain an advantage in what is a wide-open playing field.
New York will continue to be an important state for mobile betting. This is not solely down to is population size: the state happens to have ten professional sports, more than enough to keep bettors busy throughout the year.
The rise of mobile betting, in particular, has transformed the gambling landscape in the country. New Jersey, which moved into mobile betting early and aggressively, has supplanted Nevada as the top US sports gambling market. But with New York’s move, it’s unclear whether that will last: NY residents popping over the Hudson River have placed 25%–30% of all sports bets in NJ, according to industry estimates.
Mobile betting won’t just bring in money for sports fans, it’s bringing in money for the state as well. New York is implementing a 51% tax on gambling revenues by mobile sports betting operators, which is estimated to bring hundreds of millions of dollars annually to Albany. The revenue will go toward elementary and secondary education, property tax relief, treatment and education for gambling addiction, and state grants for sports programs for underserved youths.
Source: GMB / Gaming America
