New York’s Mobile Sports Betting Total Eclipsed $4.9 Billion

With New York online sports betting off to a fast start, the total amount wagered in the state since January is almost at a record-setting $5 billion.

Since the start of mobile wagering on Jan. 8, the eight licensed online bookmakers have accepted $4.994 billion in bets, according to totals released Friday from the New Sate Gaming Commission.

A ninth approved bookmaker, BallyBet New York, is expected to go live in New York this month.

FanDuel Leads In Total Sports Betting Handle

In-person sports betting began in 2019 inside upstate New York casinos, but the use of mobile apps only became legal at the first of this year.

Since then, three bookmakers have accepted more than $1 billion each in wagers.

The three are:

• FanDuel New York Sportsbook: $1.82 billion
• Caesars New York Sportsbook: $1.24 billion
• DraftKings New York Sportsbook: $1.21 billion

Weekly Betting Figures Down From Previous Amounts

For the week of March 28-April 3, the eight licensed bookmakers combined accepted $312.1 million in wagers. These bets included wagers on the NCAA men’s Final Four games on April 2-4.

That weekly total is down from $427.9 million in bets placed on mobile devices two weeks earlier, from March 14-20.

The higher mid-March figure came during the first week of NCAA men’s tournament play, when a full slate of March Madness games generated numerous betting opportunities.

Baseball Season Could Spark Betting Interest

Betting totals are expected to increase in the coming weeks, with the Major League Baseball season underway. The season got started late because of a lockout.

In addition to the start of baseball season, and local enthusiasm for the American League’s Yankees and National League’s Mets, the NBA playoffs are set to begin Tuesday with a play-in round.

Betting also is expected to pick up leading into the start of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs in early May.

New York City Casinos Considered

As mobile sports betting continues to generate interest across the state, a move to legalize Las Vegas-style casinos in the New York City area continues to gain steam.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has reached a budgetary “conceptual agreement” with legislative leaders that could result in three downstate casinos being licensed, according to VIXIO Gaming Compliance.

Right now, the closest full casino to New York City is the Resorts World Catskills Casino, about 100 miles north of the country’s largest metropolitan area, home to more than eight million people.

In the New York City area, two gambling halls offer slot-style video lottery terminal games, but no table games such as craps or blackjack.

The two site are Genting’s Resorts World at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens and MGM Resorts’ Empire City, a harness raceway in Yonkers north of the Bronx.

The Resort World and Empire City resorts are thought to have a head start on full casino licensing.

A third license could go to a site in Manhattan or to a downstate area in need of an economic boost, officials said.