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Long live the king.
New York, home of the biggest mobile sports betting market in the country, posted another standout month of handle and revenue in March. The state’s online books generated $1.85 billion in handle, the fifth highest in state history.
On the revenue side, sportsbooks passed $150 million for the sixth time since mobile sports betting launched in January 2022.
Using the immense popularity of sports betting in the state, it’s easy to imagine New York’s online casino revenue adding to the state’s coffers if legalized.
What could NY online casinos bring to the Empire State?
While online casinos are not yet legal in New York, this year has seen a lot of discussion, but ultimately it was left out of the state budget. Lawmakers believe iGaming could very much be in play to legalize in 2025.
That’s an important thing to remember when reviewing New York’s sports betting revenue, as there tends to be a crossover between a state’s sports betting and online casino customers.
New York might become the biggest online casino market in the country if iGaming launches. PlayUSA’s online casino bill tracker is keeping track of ongoing legislation and efforts to legalize online casinos in NY and other states.
Currently, seven states have launched online casinos: Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware. Of those seven, Pennsylvania generates the most revenue.
For example, in February, Pennsylvania online casinos generated a record $215.3 million in revenue. Per capita, that’s around $16.60 per person.
If New York matches Pennsylvania’s per-capita iGaming revenue, it’s possible the state could generate $326 million once it matures. That’s a staggering amount of revenue for New York online casino operators and presents a massive opportunity to generate tax revenue for the state.
Monthly and yearly NY sports betting numbers strong in March
Thanks to the betting boom that typically comes with March Madness, New York’s nine mobile sportsbooks enjoyed their best March to date for handle (total amount bet). The state’s sports bettors wagered around 3.5% more this past month than in March 2023.
While the handle was up year-on-year, gross gaming revenue (GGR) was down by about $11 million. That being said, March’s GGR was the sixth-highest in state history.
| Month | Handle | Gross gaming revenue | Handle growth | Gross gaming revenue growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | $1,849,080,276.00 | $151,679,658 | 4.27% | 15.41% |
| February | $1,773,303,032 | $131,427,395 | -9.32% | -37.86% |
| January 2024 | $1,955,590,364 | $211,504,815 | -4.23% | 12.32% |
| December 2023 | $2,041,931,893 | $188,300,120 | -3.19% | 24.78% |
| November | $2,109,294,400 | $150,903,281 | 5.11% | -9.27% |
| October | $2,006,823,408 | $166,328,229 | 14.07% | 0.46% |
| September | $1,759,236,826 | $165,562,104 | 58.10% | 68.08% |
| August | $1,112,768,221 | $98,504,385 | 15.66% | -6.30% |
| July | $962,126,094 | $105,132,318 | -17.51% | 1.26% |
| June | $1,166,390,859 | $103,827,784 | -14.15% | -31.68% |
| May | $1,358,583,506 | $151,968,098 | -12.04% | 9.47% |
| April | $1,544,465,378 | $138,820,564 | -13.52% | -14.74% |
| March | $1,785,952,977 | $162,827,580 | 21.75% | 50.37% |
Month on month, handle and GGR enjoyed a nice increase. Compared to NY’s February 2024 gaming figures handle was up 4.3% and GGR surged 15.4%. However, the average daily handle dropped in March to $59.6 million from $61.1 million.
Year to date, 2024 is ahead of 2023 when analyzing the New York State Gaming Commission’s March 2024 report. Through March, the handle stands at $5.6 billion, a more than 10% increase over the roughly $5 billion New York online sports books tallied by March 2023.
What to expect from New York sports betting this spring
Generally speaking, New York online sports betting handle peaks the first three months of the year, starts a slow decline in April that runs through the summer, and then bounces back in September.
The spring stumble was on full display in 2023:
- March 2023: $1.8 billion
- April 2023: $1.5 billion
- May 2023: $1.4 billion
- June 2023: $1.2 billion
- July 2023: $962.1 million
- August 2023: $1.1 billion
- September 2023: $1.8 billion
Using 2023 as a guide for what we can expect in the next five months, we should see revenue dip to around $1.6 million in April, $1.5 billion in May, $1.4 billion in June and around $1 billion in July.
