New York Sports Betting Revenue Sees Big Jump In October

New York Sports Teams Drive Market Growth

The New York Gaming Commission has released its October mobile sports betting report which showed the third-highest monthly handle in the state since launching in January of this year. 

The state surpassed the $1 billion mark for the eighth time since inception, handling more than $1.54 billion, up 22.8% from September’s $1.26 billion. This resulted in over $145 million in mobile sports wagering gross revenue in New York, $74 million of which went to education in the state, per New York’s 51% tax rate. 

It’s been a successful sports year for New York so far in general, which lends itself to the profitable month. The New York Mets and New York Yankees both breathed postseason air this year while the New York Giants and New York Jets have had unforeseen success through Week 10. Meanwhile, NBA and NHL teams, of which New York is home to five of, are also in the thick of their seasons now. 

Top Five Performers

Unsurprisingly, FanDuel continued its dominance in New York in October, as it handled over $609 million, the second-highest monthly handle for the operator since the Jan. 8 launch. October was up almost $110 million over September for FanDuel. 

DraftKings was successful in its own right, posting its highest-ever monthly handle since launch, breaking its previous record that was set in September. It eclipsed the $500 million mark for the first time ever, reporting a $534.57 million handle in October. 

There was a significant drop off between the first and second place spots for monthly handle and the third and subsequent spots. Caesars followed DraftKings with $195.19 million, followed by BetMGM at $106.21 million, and BetRivers at $41.76 million, to round out the top five. 

In terms of gross gaming revenue, the top four leaders in October were the same for both GGR and handle. FanDuel led the way with $76.43 million, followed by DraftKings with $41.07 million, Caesars with $14.92 million, and BetMGM $8.21 million. PointsBet got on the board to take the fifth place spot with a GGR of $2.24 million. 

Over Half A Million In Taxes

On Nov. 9, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced in conjunction with the October revenue report, that mobile sports wagering in New York accumulated $542 million in tax revenue from Jan. 8 to Oct. 30. In addition, the state collected $200 million in licensing fees, for a total of over $740 million, with “most of it to be used for education.”

The state set a national record (among many others) in September of $73 million in sports wagering tax revenue in the month of September. This blew past the previous record of $63 million, also set by New York, in January. The highest monthly mobile sports wagering tax revenue total generated outside of New York is Pennsylvania’s 2021 November, which saw $19 million. It is important to note however, that New York has a higher tax rate on its operators than any state in the country (51%), by a landslide. 

“Since New York entered the mobile sports betting market back in January, we have collected over $500 million in tax revenue,” State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. said. “That is an incredible achievement — especially in only a 10-month timespan with only nine operators — with the majority of this money going towards the state’s educational coffers, gaming addiction programs, as well as youth sports programs.”

New York’s Top Sports

Including the month of October, New York’s total handle since Jan. 8 is over $8 billion. The report broke down this number according to sport. “Baseball has taken in $2.6 billion and the NBA was not far behind with $2.5 billion. For football, the most popular sport in America, the NFL has taken in $1.3 billion over 10 regular season weeks and all of the 2022 playoffs. College football has taken in $406 million, which includes the 2022 bowl games and the current regular season to date.”

Looking at this, NFL betting has the highest growth rate of all sports. Reports show that the average number of transactions on Sundays in New York since the start of the 2022 season, is 5.7 million, showing the popularity of NFL betting in the state. Come the year anniversary of sports betting in New York (Jan. 8, 2023), it is certain to eclipse baseball (which has seen a whole season) as the most popular sport to bet on.