The NFL is back and, with it, so is NY sports betting.
After two months under $1 billion in online New York sports betting handle, Empire State operators bounced back in September, combining for $1.26 billion.
NY online sports betting operators combined for a monthly record $143.3 million in gross gaming revenue. That led to $73.1 million in tax revenue, also a monthly best and all-time US record.
NY handle bounces back with NFL
During the leaner months of July and August, NY online sports betting operators combined for $800.8 million and $872.2 million in handle.
It was the first time that the state went under the $1 billion mark since Jan. 8 launch.
However, NFL betting is the king of New York and beyond. The return of regular-season games predictably led to an increase in online sports betting handle.
Judge’s pursuit of homer history helps
Aaron Judge‘s pursuit of history likely also helped.
Judge ended the 2022 season with 62 homers, surpassing Roger Maris (61) and Babe Ruth (60) for the AL and New York Yankees single-season records.
Microbetting platform Simplebet reported that Judge accounted for the most bets of any MLB player this season with 150,000. The Mets’ Pete Alonso was next with 75,000.
Simplebet said that 38% of those Judge bets occurred in the final two weeks of the season, as he was chasing the record.
NY sports betting tax stats
NY’s 51% tax rate for online sports betting operators has remained a hot-button issue.
Operators knew what they were getting into when they willingly entered the market. Yet they’ve pushed for a reduction via lobbying efforts in advance of the 2023 legislative session.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s enacted budget for FY2023 (April 1, 2022 to April 1, 2023) projected the state would collect $615 million in tax revenue from online sports betting.
Why FY 2023 matters
Halfway through the fiscal year, the Empire State is at $307.3 million, basically on-pace.
Hitting that $615 million mark would conceivably make it difficult for operators to convince state officials they need to lower the tax rate. It does not mean they plan to stop trying.
FanDuel vs. DraftKings
The FanDuel–DraftKings NY sports betting battle continues, and the numbers are close.
FanDuel had 39.7% of market share in September, compared to 34.6% for DraftKings.
DraftKings reportedly is in partnership talks with ESPN.
