While gambling is frowned upon in some circles, its economic impact is undeniable. Gambling is a huge industry worldwide and brings governments millions in revenue on a yearly basis.
The U.S has been a major benefiary despite legalization across states occurring slowly (but surely). States rake in millions in tax through gambling alone, and as states continue to take a looser view, they’re only going to bring in more.
New York, in particular, has seen a flurry of betting activity since sportsbooks rolled out in the state back in January. There are now plenty of options for punters, with platforms such as BetMGM New York among the more popular ones.
With NY sportsbooks heading into their first full NFL campaign this year, things look very promising. Over $9.7 billion has been wagered since January 8 while the state has brought in over $368 million in tax as a result.
New York State Gaming Commission Executive Director Rob Williams is confident that New York could bring in $500 million in tax revenue from online sports betting in the market’s first year.
When former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo set things in motion for betting to be legalized, he projected that the figure wouldn’t be reached until the Fiscal Year of 2026.
“We’re very pleased with the overall success of the mobile sports wagering industry in New York. We are very cognizant that we’ve reached those great numbers without going through a football season,” Williams said to Sports Handle last week.
It always seemed as if New York was on course to break national records and become the capital of sports betting, especially given the activity coming from Manhattan neighborhoods, where folks are crazy about sports.
Folks in NY placed north of 300,000 bets within the first hour of sports betting becoming legal in the state. GeoComply, a geolocation provider based in Vancouver reported that 17.2 million were placed in the first weekend.
New York made up 25 percent of the company’s sports betting traffic in the U.S for the Super Bowl.
It’s believed that NY will go over the $2.3 billion mark for the new 2022/23 NFL season. Per Sports Handle, betting on NFL outcomes made up 18-20 percent of the state wagering. The number was 27.6 percent in Mississippi for retail sports as the state hasn’t rolled out online gambling.
NFL betting represents 37 percent of wagers made in the state of Nevada historically. It represented 33.4 percent in 2021.
Where the NFL is concerned, NY launched betting pretty late, doing so right before the final season.
There’s every reason for the state to smash projections. NFL plus college football should see NY make over $500 million in gambling tax revenue.
For reference, Colorado saw over $158 million in college football bets, with $689.1 million coming in the form of NFL bets. Yes, Colorado’s numbers include wagers in the offseason months but most of it came during the season. Now, consider that New York has well over three times as many residents as Colorado…
“There’s no doubt that as we go through this upcoming fall football season with both college and professional football that we will exceed the initial revenue numbers that we were aiming for,” Williams added. “It has been a wonderful success without what everyone concedes is the most important season to benefit sports wagering, so we’re very bullish on the market.”
New York could earn more than $180 million in gross gaming revenue off NFL betting alone.
Right next door in New Jersey, the NFL prompted around $2 billion in wagers but in NY’s first six months, it has usurped NJ in GGR, which is no surprise as there are two times as many people living in NY.
Last week, New Yorkers bet more than $200 million on sporting events for the first time in almost two months. The New York State Gaming Commission reported the mobile sports betting handle for the week ending on August 21 was $200.1 million.
Mobile wagering had gone down in July and August as there weren’t many games and events to bet on but, with the NFL kicking off its preseason, the frenzy has returned and betting is expected to increase in the coming weeks.
The state had a record week in late January when $572.6 million was wagered.
NY takes in 51 percent in tax on gross gaming revenues, making $12.4 million last week as sportsbooks hauled in $24.4 million in GGR.
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