January 2021 was a booming month for legalized sports betting in New York, compared to the same period last year.
According to numbers recently released by the New Year State Gaming Commission, commercial sports wagering revenue jumped 75.7% year on year.
The four legal sportsbooks in the state generated a combined total of $3.57 million in gaming revenue in January this year.
What makes this number impressive is that it’s the highest number on record since New York legalized sports betting in July 2019.
It’s worth mentioning that the NY State Gaming Commission report only focues on the four upstate commercial casinos. It does not count revenue made from the tribal casinos.
Highlights of the January, 2021 report include:
- Gross gaming revenue climbed from $1.9 million in January 2020 to $3.3 million.
- Gross gaming revenue was also 43.4% higher than the $2.3 million reported in December 2020.
- The best performer in the New York sportsbook market in January was Rush Street’s Rivers Casino and Resort (Schenectady). The casino kept its top spot after reporting $1.4 million in revenue – a dramatic 79.7% climb from last year’s $779,000.
- Second best revenue-maker was the del Lago Resort and Casino in Waterloo, which partnered with DraftKings for its sportsbook arm. The pair generated $1.3 million in January – doubling their $610,250 reported in the same month last year.
- The Resorts World Catskills was in third spot and up 21.2% year on year to just under $480,000.
- Tiogo Downs Casino, together with its FanDuel-run sportsbook, was up 59.4% from last year to $390K.
In the meantime, efforts continue to bring legal online and mobile sports betting to the state. In December, Governor Andrew Cuomo said publicly that he endorsed the idea and proposed a single-operator sports betting model, similar to New Hampshire.
The idea was met with opposition, even after the Governor softened his stance slightly.
A government-commissioned gaming study released earlier this month, outlined scenarios for a competitive online sports betting market, by and large ignoring the model suggested by the Governor.
