Leading success for legal betting in New York

New York has completed one year of legal sports betting after going live early last year, on January 8th, 2022. The Empire State was expected to generate $500 million in revenue for the city from betting taxes. Still, the reports show that the regulation proved to be much more successful than that.

Nine operator licenses were awarded for betting in NY, with each operator paying 51% tax to the state. The NY tax rate on GGR is the highest of all the US states. Where the revenue from betting goes varies from state to state. In New York, betting taxes go toward education, gambling addiction and youth sports. It’s proved to help an already struggling city tremendously.

In a press release, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) said: “I look forward to another year of delivering top tier mobile sports wagering experiences that generate revenue to enrich the lives of New Yorkers across the state.” She continued: “In just one year, New York has become a national leader in providing responsible entertainment for millions while bringing in record-shattering revenue for education, youth sports, and problem gambling prevention.”

The first year of legal betting in NY

Mobile betting in New York was launched just before Super Bowl 2022. During this first year, New Yorkers wagered $16 billion on legal betting. This is the highest number of bets from any state, so the Empire State has proven to be the biggest fan of this new mobile entertainment.

In December alone, the state of New York handled $1.6 billion in betting transactions. This betting handle was a record for NY and the nation. Previously, Las Vegas has been the leading state for betting, but New York surpassed this in March 2022 after March Madness. This record has now been beaten with the new numbers from December 2022.

Before going live, New York had estimated to receive $500 million in taxes from betting. But in the first year, Gov. Kathy Hochul reported that New York has benefited from $900 million in taxes and licensing fees from mobile sports betting. From these $900 million, over $700 million comes from betting tax, and the remaining $200 million comes from license fees.

The future of betting New York

There are no signs of slowing down in New York regarding gambling. Although the online casino isn’t legal yet, there is much hope for NY to be one of the next states to legalize icasino.

For now, New York has agreed to hand out three land-based casino licenses in the boroughs of New York. It’s yet to be decided where these casinos will be located. Still, many believe we might see a Caesars Casino on Times Square in the future.

There have also been talks about bonus limitations in New York. Some operators had a very aggressive marketing approach when going live last year, and regulators decided to take action following an article targeting the industry by the New York Times. A new bill was introduced that would allow NYGC (New York Gaming Commission) to implement rules and regulations regarding how much bonus a player can get.

In 2023, the Super Bowl and March Madness are expected to be New Yorkers’ most significant betting events. It’s known that many Americans still don’t know how to bet legally, but this is predicted to change in the next years.

Considering 2022 was the launching year with consecutive new monthly records, we expect nothing less from New York in 2023 to follow that pattern.

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Catie Di Stefano

Catie Di Stefano has worked in the gambling industry since 2011 for major brands like Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Gaming Innovation Group and Betsson Group. She started in customer support at age 19 and has since worked her way through VIP, CRM and Marketing. Today, Catie is passionate about educating players on consumer rights and the best approaches for legal play in the United States as the Director of Community Marketing at OnlineGamblers.com. Catie was born in Indonesia but grew up in Sweden. Currently, she resides in Spain with her two daughters.

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