New York
New York online betting handle falls below US$1bn in July
Neil is a gambling industry veteran with over 15 years experience as a content writer, editor and speaker at events. He has a Masters degree in English Literature and Philosophy and has combined this analytical inquisitiveness with a passion for sports betting and casino gaming. Neil started his career with Bettingpro.com and helped build not only that site but various others such as LiveTennis.com, LiveDarts.com and numerous other sports informational sites, including GG.co.uk and RacingTips.com He then made the transition to the North American market, working both in the UK and in New Jersey to launch various sports betting and casino sites, including AmericanBettingExperts and NewAmericanCasinos. Working with regulators, Neil has helped to review sports betting sites and also test the regulated betting apps in a professional capacity. He now works almost exclusively in the US market and is one of the main reviewers and fact checkers on SportsLens gambling content. He also speaks at various gambling conferences including ICE, iGB Live and SBC Americas and has contributed to GamblingInsider, EGR Magazine and a number of others in a consulting capacity.
All posts by Neil RoartyUpdated2 hours ago on April 20, 2024
The Big Apple’s online sportsbetting handle has fallen below US$1bn for the first time since its launch. July 2022 saw bettors wager just shy of US$801m in July, a fall of 23.8% on June’s US$1.05bn which was the lowest to date prior.
GGR increases despite handle low
Interestingly, despite the plummet of over US$200m in amount wagered by players, margins were somewhat robust, leading to GGR from the State’s nine operators being marginally higher in July than June.
GGR for July was US$73.32m, up from US$72.42m in June 2022, which was the lowest since launch in January. Analysing historical trends, the summer months of July and August tend to be amongst the lowest for wagering in the United States, with the absence of two of the ‘big three’ sports playing a large part.
With NBA and NFL not due to resume until September/October, diversifying product and encouraging bettors to wager on other products will remain a key focal point for operators looking to create more robust revenue streams.
Operator market share remains fairly constant
When looking at GGR by operator, the market shares have remained fairly constant from June to July, with Caesars seeing the largest gains, eating slightly away at market share from FanDuel and DraftKings.
FanDuel remained the clear market leader, with 53.2% of GGR in the State, and DraftKings holds 2nd spot with 21.5%. Caesars rose past the 10% mark, rising from 8.7% in June to 11.8% of GGR in July.
July marked the first month of BallyBet, the final of the 9 licensees to launch in New York, however with just US$40,000 in GGR, it has been a slow start – amidst an odd time to launch a sportsbook given the aforementioned lack of top-tier US sports action.
With an aggressive tax rate of 51% on GGR in New York, operators have struggled to balance promotional activity to gain market share given the high tax rate and what’s deductible from the GGR figure. It still remains an extremely large market, with tax returns to state already far eclipsing that of many other states.
What about CA, TX and FL?
California, Texas and Florida account for 90 million people, more than 25% of the entire country. There’s clearly propensity and desire for both sportsbetting and online casino, yet the path to regulation remains ropey and laden with tribal resistance amongst other things. These are the markets operators are looking to now to increase lobbying pressure in the pursuit of the next big cash cow.
California looks the most likely at the moment, with two Propositions heading to ballot in November to decide the future of CA sportsbetting.
