Chris Boline
After years of waiting, and seeing New Jersey make things legal years ago, the wait has finally come to a close for folks all over the Empire State who were ready to take advantage of New York sports betting. On Jan. 8, things went live and New York sports betting is going wild after the official launch. People are placing their wagers left and right, with the numbers only getting higher and higher with each day.
This really was expected, as folks had been making the drive over to New Jersey to make their sports wager there. It was something that people were sick and tired of doing, but once it was signed on to allow for legal betting, people have really welcomed it with open arms. This makes sense with the New York Knicks, New York Yankees, New York Mets and other pro teams having so much success.
Now people are racing to place wagers on those teams, while also checking out the different NFL odds, MLB odds, NBA odds and so much more to get bets in. This is important for New York as a whole because there was so much unregulated betting going on. Illegal sports wagering was a business worth millions of dollars. It needed to be fixed, which is what has happened with sports betting being given the green light.
“New York hasn’t failed to dazzle us,” Lindsay Slader, managing director of gaming at GeoComply, told Forbes in a recent interview. “The vast majority of users are brand new to regulated sports betting in the U.S. The data tell us that New Yorkers are dumping illegal sportsbooks for the new legal options and operators are also excelling at attracting first-time bettors.”
The first 36 hours of #SportsBetting in New York was LEGENDARY. In total, NY saw over 17M checks for their first weekend.
Check out this video of #geolocation volume! pic.twitter.com/FylPc2BpUQ
— GeoComply (@GeoComply) January 10, 2022
New York sports betting topped $150 million during the first weekend
In a truly stunning turn of events, New York sports betting topped $150 million during the first weekend where people were allowed to put their wagers in. While a huge number was expected, who in the world figured things would reach this massive amount? This just goes to show you how popular sports betting is, and it also is a sign of some incredible things that could be coming for the state.
As things stand, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and Rush Street Interactive are the four mobile sports betting apps that are being used in New York. According to Forbes, those four companies reported more than 650,000 unique users in the opening weekend. That makes it easier to believe where the $150 million came from, but that high number of users is also head-turning as well.
All of these numbers are also probably in large part due to the NFL being in the heart of its most exciting part of the season. With the playoffs here, people are getting more and more fired up about checking out the NFL Super Bowl odds and then getting more bets in. Entering this weekend, New York is already seeing a ton of bets being placed on the NFL Divisional Round.
This makes sense, as there are some incredible showdowns on the way. With the Packers, 49ers, Buccaneers, Rams, Bengals, Titans, Chiefs and Bills still in the hunt, all those teams are getting bet on. For New York, the home-state Buffalo Bills are getting plenty of wagers on them. While the Kansas City Chiefs are favored, a lot of people are hopeful that an upset will be on the way from Josh Allen and Co.
Sports bettors in New York wager $150 million in first two days of mobile betting, represents 44 percent of New York’s land based sports betting totals in 2 1/2 years https://t.co/YZbF75Vflu
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 18, 2022
New York state is projecting some huge numbers for sports betting
With all of that said, New York state is projecting some huge numbers for sports betting down the road. According to local reports, New York is expecting around $1 billion in annual revenue from sports betting. Holy smokes, that would really be something great to see for the economy. With that, it really should be so far-fetched. The Jets, Giants, Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Nets and more are popular teams in NY.
Because of this, fans will keep betting. Also, don’t forget that there are only four online sportsbooks that are being used. That number is expected to keep growing in the near future, while casinos and in-person sportsbooks are in the works as well. We’ve seen all the success across the river with New Jersey in incorporating that, which is opening the eyes to officials in New York. It makes sense to keep going.
At this point, New York is really going to keep having success here with its online sports betting. If anything, this is now putting pressure on other massive states, like California and Florida, to put the pedal to the metal in getting their sports betting issues figured out. California is hopeful to get it up for a vote, while Florida sports betting was ready to go, only for a U.S. District judge to rule against them.
New York is off to a flying start with its sports betting, which is something California and Florida need to monitor closely. At the end of the day, New York was able to get across the finish line first, and now we’re seeing how big it’s going to be for the state. It’s great to see for everyone involved.
