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New York Sees a $600M+ Sports Handle in 9 Days of Launch
By Jeff Osienya Jan 28, 2022 IndustryThe Empire State posts a shining performance over its first 9 days of launching its mobile sports betting market. New Yorkers spent an impressive $603.1 million worth of wagers in the said period to generate a $48.2 million GGR.When it comes to making big statements, no one does it better than New Yorkers. New Yorkers love sports, and they’re always constantly showing just how much. It, therefore, comes as no surprise to any one of the great underlying numbers that have come out of the New York mobile betting scene just nine days since its inception. The New York State Gaming Commission recently announced a whopping $603.1 million in wagers within the first nine days of mobile betting. Incredible numbers, we know.
Before the inception of mobile betting, New Yorkers only had the option to bet at any of the four upstate casinos as retail betting in the Empire State went live in July 2019. But then, having to move to the other far end of the state proved to be an inconvenience for downstate New Yorkers. Thankfully, with mobile betting, in play, that’s no longer the case as New Yorkers are free to place sports bets from anywhere within state lines.
A Flying Start With Record Shattering Figures
Owing to the great start in the mobile betting scene, the New York State Gaming Commission plans to continue posting weekly updates regarding the amount wagered and the revenue generated. The four big boys involved (i.e., DraftKings, FanDuel, BetRivers, and Ceasars sportsbook) posted a combined gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $48.2 million, showing a splendid start in their sportsbook journey in New York.
From the $48.2 million GGR, the 51% tax rate means that the Empire State has already racked a whopping 24.6 million for its coffers. This impressive volume of tax revenue is already better than the US sports betting industry’s record high of $23 million generated by Pennsylvania for the entire month of November 2021.
Meanwhile, New York’s record-smashing revenue was collected within just nine days of activity, from January 8th to 16th. By the end of the first mobile sports betting month, the Empire State’s revenue will set a record so high that it will be practically impossible to beat. Considering the betting volume of the NFL playoffs, and of course, the much-anticipated Superbowl, then we can expect an exponential boost to New York’s first-month revenue.
Caesars Sportsbook Takes an Early Lead
In the first nine days of mobile betting in the state of New York, Caesar sportsbook has emerged as the frontrunner in both the handle and gross gaming revenue. This is probably not a surprise to anyone who has been following up on the recently launched Empire State sports betting scene of late.
For starters, the gaming leviathan has a foothold in 3 already established retail casinos in New York. Besides, Caesars has also been engaging in aggressive promotion for new bettors over the last couple of weeks to advertise its brand known far and wide. As such, it was expected for Caesars to take the New York mobile betting scene by storm upon launch. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether Caesar will retain its strong position in the leaderboard in the coming weeks.
Chris Holdren, the Caesars Digital co-president of Caesars Digital, said in a news briefing:
Quote“We’re thrilled with the initial numbers reported by the New York State Gaming Commission [Friday] showing Caesars Sportsbook as No. 1 in market share among mobile sports betting operators in the Empire State. New Yorkers are one-of-a-kind in their passion for sports, and their interest in mobile sports wagering has proven to be an unprecedented moment for this industry. As excited as we are, our work is just getting started to provide New York sports fans the best sports betting experience in the market, and we’ve appreciated customer feedback as we’ve worked to improve their experience since launch. We know there is room to perfect our service offering in order to provide a product that exceeds expectations, and we’re in New York for the long haul to do just that.”
Here’s a quick highlight of how things went down among the four sportsbooks in the first 9 days of mobile betting in New York:
- Caesars Sportsbook – Handle: $257.7 million, GGR: $22.7 million
- FanDuel Sportsbook – Handle: $200.4 million, GGR: $14.1 million
- DraftKings Sportsbook – Handle: $134.6 million, GGR: $10.9 million
- BetRivers Sportsbook – Handle: $10.6 million, GGR: $446,696
New Jersey Might Just Have to Kiss New York’s Ring
Back to the betting handle, New Jersey held the previous record collecting a total of $1.3 Billion in one month by achieving this in October last year. So, it is logical to suggest that based on the figures we have already seen from New York just 9 days into mobile sports betting, New York is well on its way to surpassing these figures comfortably.
The $603 million handle posted by the Empire State over its first 9 days amounts to a daily average of $67 million in wagers. By comparison, the Garden State saw a daily average handle of nearly $42 million for October 2021, the month that it posted the largest handle in the history of US sports betting.
Of course, it helps that New York is one of the most populated states in the country and would thus post better numbers than most states when it comes to the revenue generated.
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