NY Sports Betting Study Estimates Up to $1.1B Annual Revenue

January 25th, 2021

NY Sports Betting Study Estimates Up to $1.1B Annual Revenue

The New York State Gaming Commission has released its long-awaited study on sports betting as the state weighs proposals from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature to bring mobile sports betting to the state.

The 358-page detailed analysis — conducted by Horsham, Pennsylvania-based Spectrum Gaming Group — considers the prospect of mobile New York sports wagering through the four commercial casinos and three gaming tribes.

The new report estimates brick-and-mortar retail sportsbooks plus online sports wagering would generate between $816 million to $1.14 billion in annual gross gaming revenue. Statewide tribal sports betting projects between $72-$99 million in state revenue annually.

New York Sports Betting partnerships Set Up

Some of the biggest online sportsbooks already have partnerships, including DraftKings and del Lago Resort Casino in Waterloo and FanDuel and Tioga Downs Casino Resort in Nichols. BetRivers is the sportsbook for Rivers Casino in Schenectady and bet365 is affiliated with Resorts World Catskills in Monticello.

Having sports betting run like the state lottery — which Cuomo favors — was not included in the study.

The New York State Gaming Commission is scheduled to meet on Tuesday.

Long Delay in Sports Betting Study

The report was supposed to be released on New Year’s Eve 2019, then was delayed to June 2020. It faced another delay as the state dealt with the current coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the gaming market in New York.

Cuomo delivered his Executive Budget in Albany last week and it reiterated what he said about mobile sports betting being run like the lottery in his State of the State address.

That model has not been successful in the U.S. sports betting market. States that have lottery-run, single-source sports betting platforms deal with numerous issues. States with competitive markets like those offered by top New Jersey sportsbooks and their Pennsylvania sportsbook counterparts have been producing record handle and revenue.

A state Senate committee in New York has advanced a bill that allows for more operators and a competitive online sports betting market, which is good for consumers. The House has advanced similar legislation.

With New York facing a deficit of $15 billion because of the continuing coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty of federal aid, New York needs to cut or raise at least $9 billion in the budget.