New York monthly online sports betting handle finally fell short of $1 billion.
After exceeding $1 billion in handle in each of the first six months since Jan. 8 launch, online NY sports betting operators in the Empire State combined for $800.8 million in July handle.
The summer months are slower for sportsbooks, given the annual lull in the sports betting calendar. Currently, MLB is the only of the four major sports available for bettors.
NFL to the rescue
However, the NFL regular season kicks off Sept. 8, and a significant uptick is expected. This will be the first full time NY has legal online sports betting for an entire NFL season.
“We were expecting this,” Sen. Joe Addabbo told LSR. “Baseball is the only game in town (for now). And we expected some type of drop off with no NBA, NHL and NFL games. It’s a slow period.
“But we’ve got another month (with preseason) and then football will pick up, as will the other sports.”
New York online sports betting handle by month
- January: $1.67 billion
- February: $1.53 billion
- March: $1.64 billion
- April: $1.39 billion
- May: $1.26 billion
- June: $1.05 billion
- July: $800.8 million
NY rolling in sports betting tax revenue
Overall, NY online sports betting operators combined for $9.3 billion in handle from Jan. 8-July 31. That has led to $680.5 million in total gross gaming revenue, and $347 million in tax revenue.
NY’s 51% tax rate continues to rankle many in the industry. But it also continues to be a financial boom to the state — with $37.4 million still arriving in tax revenue during a slower month like July.
What could happen to tax rate?
Operators will keep pushing as they attempt to find a path to profitability. Expanding the market to fuel more competition could make sense. But it will be tougher to get a future reduction if tax revenue continues to be this staggering.
Policymakers will reevaluate the market toward the end of the year, while hopefully finding ways to improve it. NY bettors would like to be able to wager on individual player award futures, so surely that will be among the topics of conversation.
“This is what we’ll look at when we evaluate New York over a period of time,” Addabbo said. “”I think that’s helpful, not looking at things in a vacuum. You look at the whole year, you see the ebbs and the flows, and how you could make the product even better for our state.”
FanDuel still leads NY, Bally Bet starts slow
FanDuel continues its dominance among NY operators. From Jan. 8-July 31, FanDuel posted a 40% market share ($3.7 billion in handle) and a 46% revenue share ($315.6 million).
DraftKings is second over that span with a 25% market share ($2.3 billion in handle) and a 23% revenue share ($155.7 million).
Bally Bet faces a daunting battle trying to make inroads in the Empire State. The operator launched July 7, nearly six months after some of its competitors. Overall in July, Bally Bet generated $640,000 in online sports betting handle, leading to $40,000 in total GGR.
