As predicted, New York has overtaken New Jersey as the top sports wagering state in the country after only 4 weeks of legal mobile wagering. New York blew past the Garden State this January to occupy the top spot in the revenue table, managing to rake in an excess of $1.6 billion worth of sports wagers. Based on figures shared by the New York State Gaming Commission, the Empire state generated $300 million more than New Jersey’s best month in its history.
New Jersey was the first to legalize its sports betting market after the Supreme Court gave the green light in 2018. New Jersey has led the market since the advent of sports betting; until now. The Garden state enjoyed its best month yet last year in October 2021 when it managed to generate $1.3 million in wagers. It is not yet clear how well the state has performed in January as the exact revenue figures are yet to be generated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Legal sports betting in the Empire State has exceeded everyone’s expectations and will likely continue doing so as the year progresses. At present, New York and New Jersey are the mecca of the sports betting empire that’s growing in the country. The ongoing Super Bowl has certainly helped things, especially the Buffalo Bills playoff that made a statement to the entire National Football League.
In the coming weeks, New York is anticipated to put up an even better performance with the upcoming NHL All-Star Game, Winter Olympics, as well as the Super Bowl. The Empire state became the 18th state to permit legal online sports betting and since then, the sports wagering whale has set a record for the most sports bets placed in just a few weeks of being in business.
Upon legalization, the state allowed 4 operators, namely Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive, who have been accepting wagers from smartphone apps. As time has progressed, the authorities have permitted even more companies, who have all been gearing up for the Super Bowl TKVII bets, which kicked off on 13th February.
Experts predict that with this ongoing betting activity, New York could easily exceed all other states in their debuts, as well as Arizona’s existing record of $777 million. Arizona’s market debuted last fall. In September and October, bettors in the state wagered the $777 million thus setting the record in the state. This will be an easy amount for New York to surpass as it boasts the largest population of any state with legal online sports betting.
Plus, with all the sporting activity that’s lined up, as well as the fear of the ongoing pandemic almost eradicated, New York could not have legalized sports gambling at a better time. Millions have already been placed on college football championships this January and the Super Bowl and March Madness are impending.
The Empire State is also one of the only states that have a wide array of sports on offer for punters to choose from. New York is home to some of the most loyal sports fans of the Liberty, Nets, Rangers, Knicks, Jets, Rangers, Giants, Bills, Islanders, Mets, and Yankees, which is exactly what will allow the state to have billion-dollar monthly handles.
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New York Has Been Losing to New Jersey for Years
Before sports betting was legalized in New York, New Yorkers would often have to travel to New Jersey to place their wagers. Since sports betting was legalized in 2018, New Jersey has been the country’s top sports wagering market. By the end of November 2021, the state’s 9 casinos and 3 horse tracks that accept sports wagers have generated more than $10 billion in wagers.
According to estimates, as much as 25% to 30% of sports wagers in the state were coming from New Yorkers. Now that residents of the Empire State no longer rely on New Jersey to place bets on their favorite events, analysts predict that New Jersey’s wagering volume could drop by at least 20%.
In-person sports gambling has always been legal in the state since 2013. However, the lack of an online betting alternative was always a big blow to the market. Before sports betting was legalized in New York last year, millions of residents would place illegal wagers, thus breaking the law.
Now that residents no longer have to make the trip across the popular George Washington Bridge just to place wagers on their phones, betting operators have been doing everything possible to lure customers with huge inducements and bonuses. In just the first weeks of legal online betting, the 4 online operators that had received the green light from the state generated $15o million and 650,000 unique player accounts were created.
By the end of the week, the number of unique player accounts had grown to 1.2 million based on data that was shared by GeoComply, which is a software provider that certifies the location of bettors. The $150 million generated in the first week was more than what Pennsylvania and the Garden State generated in their first weeks of operation.
New York’s population is almost twice as much as New Jersey’s, owing to its 20 million residents. As such, it’s easy to see why and how New York will surpass and eclipse any record that New Jersey holds. For this reason, it is safe to say that New York will now grow to become the sports wagering capital of the nation within the first 6 months of this year.
Since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting, more than 30 states have legalized the practice with 18 allowing some kind of online wagering. Sports betting has become a cash cow for many states, most of which require the revenue to fund recovery efforts after the pandemic.
Final Thoughts
Now that sports betting has been legalized in New York, it could spur lawmakers in neighboring states of California and Texas to do the same. Texas and California are the only other 2 states with massive populations that could rival the Empire State’s betting volume, which might put some pressure on them to legalize their own markets.
