New York state shattered the mobile sports betting record in less than a month of operation, according to data released by the New York State Gaming Commission on Friday.
The Empire State handled roughly $1.62 billion in sports wagers from Jan. 8-Jan. 30, more than doubling the previous opening month record set by Arizona. The number also eclipses the record for sports wagers handled in any single month, set by New Jersey with $1.3 billion in October 2021.
Caesars Entertainment (CZR) led the state with a $615.5 million handled while FanDuel (PDYPYF) and DraftKings (DKNG) were second and third on the list. BetMGM (MGM), which launched mobile sports betting in New York on January 17, handled a little more than $78 million.
The record-shattering action in New York has surprised some Wall Street gaming analysts and supported their long-term bullish calls on sports gaming stocks.
"Some states have taken months, even years, to get up to a running pace and New York seems to have hit the ground at full gallop," Eric Ramsey, market analyst lead for PlayUSA Network, told CBS MoneyWatch. "There's not a question: New York is already the largest sports betting state in the country."
The New York State Gaming Commission also listed each company’s gross gaming revenue, which is the total amount the companies take home after paying out winning bets. New York taxes 51% of the company’s gross gaming revenue, the largest of any state’s gambling state. In less than a full month, New York totaled more than $55 million in taxes from the $112.99 million gross gaming revenue total.
The large numbers came in part due to a hectic sports schedule over the last month that included football playoffs for both college and NFL teams as well as regular season games in the NHL and NBA.
'Very aggressive marketing'
New York has the largest population of any state to legalize mobile sports wagering and thus analysts expected a significant handle.
Furthermore, part of the additional wagering has been driven by steadfast marketing campaigns.
“It was a very aggressive marketing and promotional launch,” Macquire Analyst Chad Beynon told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday. “So we expect for the companies that are exposed to New York at this point to lose money in the near term from a customer acquisition standpoint. Now, in terms of market share, DraftKings, FanDuel, and MGM have been the leaders in the space for most of 2021.”
Meanwhile, he noted, Caesars Entertainment “was a little late to the game, just given an acquisition that was going on.” The company obtained the highest wagering handle while offering to match deposits up to $3,000 during a portion of the NFL Playoffs.
“They have over 40% market share for wagers in New York,” Beynon said, adding: “So the big question is: Do they have the technology and really the connection to retain these customers to keep them on the digital site, and then maybe improve the omnichannel experience, sending them to Las Vegas and their properties around the country?”
Josh is a producer for Yahoo Finance.
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