Gambling in the USA
Study Reveals New York is Losing $200+ Million by Not Legalising Online Sports Betting
A recent study released by the market research firm Eilers & Krejcik in February 2020 has estimated that New York is losing $200+ million in revenue by not legalising online sports betting. As per the study, the estimated range of money being left on the table by New York is between $203 million and $286 million.
The research firm, in a report commissioned by New Jersey sports betting market-leaders FanDuel and DraftKings, proposes three scenarios of taxation using a projected amount of sports book licenses, from 7 to 10, being charged licensing fees of $12 million a year.
The projections are being put forth as Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget discussions that seek to address a $6 billion budget deficit in the Empire State do not highlight the legalisation of online sports gambling as a remedy.
“This is not the time to come up with creative although irresponsible revenue sources to solve a problem which doesn’t really exist,” Cuomo said.
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, the most staunch proponent of sports gambling in the state, told The Action Network that if online sports gambling is not in the state budget by the time it is resolved on April 1, it will likely not be approved until 2021.
Addabbo’s strategy is to get Cuomo’s attention by showing how much money New York has lost to neighbouring New Jersey. The Garden State pulled in $4.6 billion in bets in 2019, 85% of Nevada’s handle, making Jersey the second-most valuable sports gambling state in the nation.
Eilers & Krejcik estimates that New Yorkers bet $837 million on sports in New Jersey. When subtracting the payouts for wins using a conservative hold percentage, it is an estimated $57.1 million in revenue for the operators and $6.2 million in tax revenue lost by New York to New Jersey.