Mobile sports betting in New York tops $1.6 billion in January
Caesars Sportsbook is a mobile sports betting company operating in New York since it began on Jan. 8, 2022. Credit: Caesars Sportsbook
Another week, another milestone for mobile sports betting in New York.
New York’s six operating sportsbooks, after just 23 days, have taken more than $1.6 billion in bets, according to documents made available Friday by the State Gaming Commission for the week ending Jan. 30. That surpasses the national monthly record of $1.3 billion set by New Jersey in October 2021.
Official monthly numbers are expected to be released in mid-February, and will include the handle from Monday, Jan. 31, for New York. New Jersey, Nevada and other states where mobile sports betting is legal had the full 31 days of January to take bets.
For the week ending Jan. 30, New York saw $449,313,997 in bets placed, down from the $572 million bet the week before. The gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the week was $21,571,803, the lowest of the three full weeks of live mobile sports betting in New York.
New York took its first mobile sports bets on Saturday, Jan. 8, and the total handle reaching $1,624,919,978 in 23 days has generated an early financial windfall for the state.
The gross gaming revenue in New York as of Jan. 30 was $112,999,078. That number, which represents the betting profits of the books, gets taxed at 51%. That equates to $57,629,529.78 in new tax revenue for the state.
"With Gov. [Kathy] Hochul kicking off mobile sports wagering on January 8th, there is no doubt there is strong interest in online sports betting in the Empire State, which has just set a national record for monthly tax revenue," said Brad Maione, the director of communications for the New York State Gaming Commission. "We look forward to a robust landscape of mobile sports wagering for years to come, one that helps to fund education in New York State as well as provide annual awards to sports programs for underserved youth and problem gambling education and treatment."
Of the tax revenue collected from mobile sports wagering in the fiscal year 2022, which ends March 31, 98% will go toward funding education. The remaining 2% gets split between sports programs for underserved youth and problem gambling educatioon and treatment.
In its first week of operating, PointsBet took in more than $29 million in bets, with a profit of more than $2.3 million. The numbers on how each of the remaining sportsbooks performed for the week ending Jan. 30 will be made available later on Friday.
Notable sporting events since Jan. 8 include the final week of the NFL regular season, the college football national championship game, three rounds of NFL playoff games and the Australian Open, plus NBA, NHL, soccer and college basketball games.
Mobile sports betting handle in New York (week ending Jan. 30)
Caesars Sportsbook: $128,143,427
FanDuel: $141,786,622
DraftKings: $102,185,797
BetMGM: $37,503,630
PointsBet: $29,465,195
Rush Street Interactive: $10,229,325
Gross gaming revenue in New York (week ending Jan. 30)
Caesars Sportsbook: $14,136,472
DraftKings: $5,347,568
PointsBet: $2,336,813
BetMGM: $710,277
Rush Street Interactive: ($394,458)
FanDuel: ($564,868)
Note: Numbers in parentheses represent a net loss for the sportsbook.
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
