Over the past several years, New York Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. has spent countless hours campaigning for mobile sports betting in the Empire State
It finally reached legal status in January, and the early results have been astonishing.
In its first three-plus weeks of mobile sports betting, New York set an all-time U.S. record with $1.6 billion wagered. Sportsbook operators made nearly $113 million off of those bets, which will be taxed at a 51% rate by the state of New York.
When Addabbo was asked about his current emotions after watching all his time and effort turn into something substantive, one word came to mind.
“Happy,” Addabbo told Compare.bet in an exclusive interview. “It was a challenge for us over the past two years, for myself and my team and the committee. So to finally see it become reality after two years of hard work and persistence … it was pleasing that the persistence paid off in the end.”
New York has broken the U.S. record for most money wagered on sports in a single month:
$1.6 billion 💵
New York is now the largest sports betting market in America — after just three weeks of taking mobile bets. pic.twitter.com/uN9DbnGzp3
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 4, 2022
Addabbo believes this is only the start for New York, which is the fourth-most populous state in the country.
“I think globally — not just nationally, but globally — people were waiting for New York to enter the sports betting arena,” Addabbo said. “Those numbers to this point are record-setting, and we have the Super Bowl coming up. … I think New York has the potential to be the leader, at least nationally, in the mobile sports betting market.”
Addabbo, who is the Chairman of Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, was confident that New York had the requisite setup for a big splash into the mobile sports betting realm, and the longer the state waited to legalize it, the more tax money was headed to New Jersey and other states where sports betting was legal.
“We always knew New York had that kind of fanbase, that population, the very savvy sports bettor,” Addabbo said. “We were tracking them going to other states, so we knew we had to finish, but also had to make sure we were offering our New Yorkers a premium product. That’s what my hope was, and it seems that we do have the premium product.”
New York’s 51 percent tax rate on sports betting is among the highest in the country. There was some concern that sportsbook operators would balk at that figure, but the large handle has quelled those concerns at this point.
“If we continue at this level of volume of wagers and customers, then that tax rate becomes a non-issue,” Addabbo said. “Basically, at that point everybody’s happy — the consumer in New York, the state, the operators. So I don’t think it’s an issue at this point, but it is certainly something we will look at going forward.”
In its first month with mobile sports betting New York set an all time U.S. state handle mark with $1.6 BILLION wagered 🤯🤯#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/kqIbecvqk9
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 4, 2022
New York has earmarked much of the tax revenue for education, and if the sports betting figures continue to rise, it will be a significant amount of money getting reinvested in the state’s youth.
“I would say the lion’s share — 90% of which if not more — will go to education and fund the system,” Addabbo said. “Gaming in New York on the average, and I’ll use pre-Covid numbers, but on average, our gaming industry in New York gives the education portion of our budget about $3 billion so it is a significant educational funding mechanism that we have here in New York with our gaming industry.”
A thriving New York sports betting market always seemed like a slam dunk, but there wasn’t evidence until the first batch of numbers were revealed.
Mere weeks into mobile sports betting legality, the state looks poised to rocket to the top of the class.
“If we offer this kind of betting product to the people of New York then yes, that kind of potential exists to eclipse New Jersey and Nevada to be number one in the nation,” Addabbo said. “We have that kind of base. They are very savvy, they are very sharp, and I have always said that in a millisecond, in the blink of an eye, they’ll go back to doing it illegally or back to New Jersey or Pennsylvania or whatever state if they feel they are not getting what they are owed or deserve here in New York. So that’s the sustainability issue and long-term plan we need to look at.”
