Surprise, surprise: some names many expected teamed up with some strange bedfellows for a mobile NY sports betting application.
Bally Bet, BetMGM and DraftKings Sportsbook join primary applicant FanDuel Sportsbook in a superbid joining the three US market-share leaders with an upstart.
It is the most eye-popping combination of the six bids, but it is not the only significant group of names wanting in.
Who else bid on mobile New York sportsbook licenses?
A bid led by platform provider Kambi includes:
- Caesars Sportsbook, which just launched a massive brand campaign following the William Hill acquisition
- Genting Malaysia‘s Resorts World Catskills
- PointsBet
- Rush Street Interactive
- WynnBET
Kambi also led a bid with former FanDuel CEO Matt King’s new company, Fanatics, partnering with Barstool Sportsbook from Penn National Gaming.
Solo bids by bet365, FOX Bet and theScore Bet round out the six online NY sports betting bids.
Applications for the new mobile market were due to the New York State Gaming Commission by Monday. The NYSGC must select at least two bids but retains the option to pick more.
No additional NY sports betting bid details
Unfortunately, the partners for those bids is all the public is likely to know for some time.
Details including proposed revenue share are unlikely to be known until a winner is announced. Winners do not have to be selected until Dec. 6, according to the schedule outlined in the RFA.
Remember, whichever bid is ranked the highest by the grading scale will set the bar for revenue share. That’s significant because the Bally’s-BetMGM-DraftKings-FanDuel super bid also includes some professional teams as well, according to The Athletic:
- MLB‘s New York Yankees
- MLS‘ NYCFC
- NFL‘s Buffalo Bills
- NHL‘s Buffalo Sabres
- YES Network
That looks like the kind of bid that can afford to consider whatever sports betting revenue is left over as the icing on the cake. Fan engagement and control of the NY sports betting ecosystem should be worth a pretty penny that could see a revenue share of 60% or more.
It’s also worth noting that if there are additional unmentioned partners for one bid, there could be additional partners for others as well.
FD, DK bid could be the only winner
Although platform providers are the primary applicants in the NY sports betting bids, this list does not necessarily mean there is just one per bid.
There is only one primary applicant per application. The primary applicant has to be a platform provider, but it does not have to be the only platform provider, according to the definition in the RFA:
“If more than one Platform Provider is included within an Application, one Platform Provider must be designated as the Primary Applicant.”
That means DraftKings’ SBTech could also be a platform provider in that bid. SBTech is live in 11 of DraftKings’ 12 states.
With two platform providers and four sports betting operators, that would satisfy the minimum licenses required by statute. If no other bidder agreed to meet whatever sports betting revenue share this bid offered, the four winners would be the only online sportsbooks in the state.
Bidding likely limited by economics
Just about every US sports betting company would like to be in New York. The harsh truth is that it will be a struggle for even the biggest operators to turn a profit.
Sports betting revenue shares could top 60% after Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it clear he expects a minimum of 50% to be shared.
Penn National CEO Jay Snowden broke down Penn’s thinking about New York, especially after agreeing to buy Score Media, on the company’s earnings call last week:
“They’re going to choose a couple of platforms and a number of operators and we think that what we bring to the table and how we’re thinking about who we might partner with on a bid in New York, it’s going to be very differentiated. We have opportunities to do things that no one else can do because the power of the media integration, both with Barstool Sportsbook and in the not-too-distant future, theScore as well.
“So yes is the answer. I don’t want to talk a whole lot more about our approach in New York. I would just say that I think we have a great opportunity and we also, because of the structural advantages – you know look, nobody wants the tax rate as high as it’s proposed in New York but if anybody can make money in that sort of environment, it’s us.”
