The New York State Gaming released its sports betting handle, and the industry’s capital keeps on setting the tone to begin the New Year. January’s monthly report set new records all across the board in regard to its handle, revenue, and tax receipts.
The Empire State Sets New Records Once Again
As Les Brown once said, ‘You don’t win until you lose!’ this speaks volumes because New York has yet to lose. With all the weekly handles to start the week factored in, the total handle barely missed $1.8 billion slightly. Still, the numbers surpassed the total of $1.69 billion that was set during the launch month (January 2022).
In the post-PASPA era, the Empire State’s sports betting model has been desired by many other major jurisdictions that contribute a hefty amount to the industry. Currently, New York owns ten of the 12 largest handles ever reported, and eight are ranked from one through eight.
The state also set a revenue record by eclipsing the previous record that was set back in November. Currently, the record stands at $149.9 million, which is approximately $640,000 more than the short-lived record.
Can Operators Make the Argument for a Lower Tax Rate?
It’s hard to convince lawmakers that amendments need to be made if the state continues to break records. Even with all the threats and other noise, it will take a lot of effort to make sure lawmakers look past that.
Compared to December, the total handle increased by 10.2 percent, and was 6.7 percent higher than January 2022. The revenue also noted a solid increase of 4.8 percent compared to the previous month and a significant 21.1 percent increase compared to its year-to-date numbers.
This is due to a decent hold rate of 8.3 percent, which depicts a full percentage point higher.
The amount is tax receipts also benefited from the strong numbers across the board. The Empire State collected $76.3 million in tax receipts, which is another all-time high; lifting past November’s record by about $563,000.
Since the start of the operation, the state has generated over $770 million in tax revenue. Now, the question is when will New York reach the $2 billion monthly bench mark as the next best opportunity will come during March Madness?
FanDuel Keeps On Separating Itself from the Rest of the Competition
FanDuel extended its double-digit win rate streak to seven months win at the average hold rate of 11.3 percent. In the monthly handle and revenue category, with $726.7 million and $81.9 million, respectively. In three of the last four months, the bookmaker’s market share has accounted for over 40 percent of the market’s total.
DraftKings secured the second position once again, but still trails its major rival by a large margin. By accepting $593.4 million, and the win rate showcasing a decline of nearly two percentage points, the revenue figures dipped about 11 percent from December’s strong month to $39.8 million.
Caesars was the only other operator that earned revenue in the eight-figure range, with just under $15 million. The handle increased 4.5 percent to $223.7 million compared to the previous month, but a 0.6-point drop in hold led to a 4.2 percent drop in revenue, which was insufficient to counteract the increase in handle.
As the trend follows the same script, BetMGM was the final sportsbook to reach the nine figure handle territory with $122.9 million in accepted bets. Unfortunately, the hold rate was situated at 5.9 percent, which is well below the national average of 5.9 percent, which resulted in $7.2 million in revenue to round out the top four.
