Today marks the two-month anniversary of the historic launch of legalized Betting Apps NY.
Ever since a stirring Jan. 8 debut, New York shot up to the forefront of the sports betting industry, establishing right from the get-go that mobile wagering was here to stay with imposing numbers.
Letās take a look at some of the winners and losers in the Empire State:
Winners
Amazing Interest, Newfound Revenue: With so much back and forth just to get sports betting going in the state for the past few years, New York has started to reap some of the benefits.
In the stateās last weekly report, mobile sports wagering handle posted at $350.3 million (Feb. 21-27), marking the seventh consecutive week total handle has been more than $350 million. Overall mobile Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) was at $25.34 million, the second straight week and third of the last four the total GGR was more than $25 million.
Since the last weekend of the NFL regular season, overall handle for all providers stands at $3.16 billion, with GGR at $204.69 million and taxes to the state at $104.39 million.
The Dynamic Duo: State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. and State Assemblyman Gary Pretlow have stuck to their beliefs over the past couple of years and knew this could be a dream fulfilled. They never wavered and saw their dream become a reality Jan. 8.
With the foundation already set, now both legislators want to take it to the next level with an expansion of gaming, the possibility of even more providers and the work towards a decrease of the highest tax rate in the nation at 51%. (Of the nine operators initially approved by the New York State Gaming Commission, only BallyBet New York has yet to launch.)
Donāt bet against them.
Neighboring States Hanging in There: With the New York launch, many thought neighboring states that already had sports betting would be hurt drastically.
Far from it.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut not only have kept up with handle but have gained new customers and interest. This seems to help the industry move forward in an even more positive way.
Losers
Commercials, Commercials, Commercials: With the initial launch, heavy promotion for the original four mobile providers was to be expected. But now, with eight providers live and fully operational, the commercials and promotion continues ad nauseum over all platforms of traditional and social media.
It has to subside soon or other potential customers will be turned off.
Upstate Casinos: Once the only game in town, the four upstate commercial casinos were pretty much the only places to make a sports wager at their retail sportsbooks.
With mobile sports betting in place and with a possibility of three down state casinos to come into play soon, that has changed. Attendance and numbers have dwindled and could dwindle even more.
How will those retail sportsbooks and casinos rebound? Can they? We soon shall see.
Consistency and Good Products: With the NFL season ending, there is always a drop-off in consistent wagering among customers, no matter who the provider is. How do providers maintain interest and evolve their betting platforms to be better?
Technical issues are always a problem when a big event happens, and we have seen that among some of the providers during big events. Those glitches were resolved, of course, but another test will be over the next week as the NCAA Tournament begins in earnest on St. Patrickās Day, March 17.
