NY's Mobile Sports Betting Scores $909M In Revenue In 1st Year: Hochul

LONG ISLANd, NY – Mobile sports betting has proven to be a boon for New York, racking up a cool $909 million in revenue during its first year, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

Weighing in on the 1-year anniversary of mobile sports wagering, which took place on Jan. 8, Hochul said Friday that the state has collected more than $709.2 million in taxes on such bets, the highest amount nationwide. An additional $200 million in licensing fees has also been collected, generating a total of more than $909 million in revenue, most of it to be used for education, she said.

That's a jump from November, when Hochul reported that mobile sports betting had racked up $542 million in revenue.

"In just one year, New York has become a national leader in providing responsible entertainment for millions while bringing in record-shattering revenue for education, youth sports, and problem gambling prevention," Hochul said. "I look forward to another year of delivering top-tier mobile sports wagering experiences that generate revenue to enrich the lives of New Yorkers across the state."

New York State Gaming Commission Chairman Brian O'Dwyer added: "Thanks to Governor Hochul's leadership and the enactment of smart and responsible gaming policies, New York continues to break revenue and wagering records. As we enter the second year of mobile sports wagering in New York State, the gaming commission will continue to ensure that such betting is conducted in a safe and responsible manner."

According to GeoComply, a software firm used by sports books to ensure geolocation requirements, more than 3.8 million unique player accounts have been created since launch in January, 2022, conducting more than 1.2 billion transactions.

Through January 7, the total mobile sports wagering handle reached $16,595,732,482 and generated a total net revenue to education of $709,247,358, Hochul said.

Of that revenue, $5 million was used to fund sports programs for underserved youths and $6 million to fund problem gambling education and treatment, with the remaining majority to fund education aid, Hochul said.

In November, Hochul noted that in under 10 months, since mobile sports gambling became available in the state, $542 million in taxes had been collected, "far surpassing" every other state in the nation,

Under a proposal first made by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2021, the state Gaming Commission was to issue a request for proposals to select and license a sports operator or platform to offer mobile sports wagering. The operator or platform would need to have a partnership with one of the existing licensed casinos; the commission would also require any entity operating mobile wagering apps to include safeguards against abuse and addiction, he said.

In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal law prohibiting most states from authorizing sports wagering. Sports wagering is now legal online in 14 states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, while, until January, 2022 it had only been legal in New York at the four upstate gaming facilities and Native American gaming facilities.

A study found that before the mobile sports betting was introduced, nearly 20 percent of New Jersey's sports wagering revenue had come from New York residents, meaning millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, Cuomo said at the time.