It was never expected that the mobile NY sports betting market would be immune to the annual spring and summer revenue slowdown.
That said, April’s numbers are far from disappointing, especially from the state’s perspective. Mobile handle hit its lowest monthly mark since launching in January at $1.39 billion, but an overperforming FanDuel helped push mobile New York sportsbooks past $50 million in taxes for a second straight month.
How the next few months play out will show whether hitting $500 million in annual tax revenue is feasible or still a pipe dream.
NY sports betting tax haul to top US leaders soon
New York’s eight live operators have paid $216.6 million in taxes from the Jan. 8 launch through April. Just two US sports betting jurisdictions have reported more than that over substantially longer timelines:
- Pennsylvania: $240.9 million in taxes paid over 41 months
- New Jersey: $222.7 million paid over 46 months
Of course, the fact that New York taxes mobile betting at 51% has much to do with that quick growth. No doubt other states still working to legalize will see the impact of a higher tax rate.
The Massachusetts Senate certainly appears to have noticed. The Senate passed a bill that calls for a 35% tax on mobile betting with no promotional deductions, compared to a 15% proposal with deductions in the House.
FanDuel still building market share
New Yorkers continue to show their preference for FanDuel as the company presses the gas on customer acquisition.
| Handle | Revenue | Hold | Taxes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FanDuel | $599,485,964 | $63,588,526 | 10.6% | $32,430,148 |
| DraftKings | $327,051,970 | $19,637,003 | 6.0% | $10,014,872 |
| Caesars | $215,747,442 | $11,803,413 | 5.5% | $6,019,741 |
| BetMGM | $142,155,809 | $4,980,574 | 3.5% | $2,540,093 |
| PointsBet | $53,193,312 | $1,468,571 | 2.8% | $748,971 |
| BetRivers | $37,987,120 | $1,809,025 | 4.8% | $922,603 |
| WynnBET | $9,374,427 | $518,705 | 5.5% | $264,540 |
| Resorts World Bet | $5,781,833 | $335,808 | 5.8% | $171,262 |
| Total | $1,390,777,877 | $104,141,625 | 7.5% | $53,112,229 |
The brand accounted for 43.1% of all handle in April, up 2 percentage points from March. The other three operators in the top four all saw declines:
- DraftKings: down 1.8 percentage points
- Caesars: down 1.2 percentage points
- BetMGM: down 0.3 percentage points
Bally Bet launch coming, per Bally’s CEO
The New York market should have all of its nine mobile operators live by the end of June.
The rollout of Bally Bet 2.0 started in Arizona this month and should hit New York by the end of the second quarter, Bally’s CEO Lee Fenton said.
Do not expect any big pushes from Bally’s to make up for lost time, according to Fenton: “We will be cautious as we keep a keen eye on marketing spend and how to navigate a high-tax environment in sports betting.”
