New York Sports Betting Bill Would Increase Mobile Operators, Decrease Tax Rate

• New York State Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow has Introduced a New Sports Betting Bill
• Pretlow’s Bill Gradually Increases Number of Mobile Operators and Decreases Tax Rate
• NY Mobile Sports Betting Launched in January and is Now the Largest Market

New York State Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow has Introduced a New Sports Betting Bill

After just two months of New York’s mobile betting market in operation, the state has already set new records with their $2 billion January handle and the $3.1 billion in total sports bets since the January launch, numbers that could increase further with more mobile sportsbooks in play.

That could happen if New York State Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow’s new bill becomes law, his legislation designed to gradually increase the total number of mobile sportsbooks allowed to operate in the Empire State market from the current nine to as many as sixteen.

The increase in mobile sportsbooks would happen gradually, and as more joined in they would all see a decrease in the 51% tax rate now applied in New York, the highest of any other U.S. sports betting market and a major hurdle that keeps some new operators from joining in.

Each new sportsbook would still pay an initial one-time licensing fee of $25 million, the high cost of getting to participate in the most lucrative sports betting market in the country, a price that many smaller operators might not be willing or able to pay.

Assemblyman Pretlow’s bill is meant to counter that.

Pretlow’s Bill Gradually Increases Number of Mobile Operators and Decreases Tax Rate

The way New York’s mobile sports betting market would work should Pretlow’s bill become law is that as new sportsbooks are added, the tax rate for all sportsbooks would decrease, an enticement that could attract some of the operators still reluctant to join in.

Here’s how it might work – should the number of mobile sportsbooks increase to ten, the tax rate would decrease to 50%, and if and when fifteen sportsbooks have joined the New York sports betting market, that rate would then decrease by half to just 25%.

This could address the problem most sportsbooks have with joining the New York sports betting market, which is that is not possible to generate a sustainable level of profit when over half of your revenue is going back to the state.

But one look at the financial success of New York’s mobile sports betting market should entice even the fiscally shyest of operators.

NY Mobile Sports Betting Launched in January and is Now the Largest Market

When the legal mobile sports betting market launched on January 8 in New York, state lawmakers and industry leaders expected the numbers to be solid, but what ended up happening was pleasantly shocking for anyone with a piece of that action.

In two months, New York has taken in $3.1 billion worth of bets, and that has resulted in $104 million in new tax revenue for the state, which is over forty-percent of Governor Kathy Hochul’s goal for 2022 of $25 million, a sign of even better things to come.

Assemblyman Pretlow is convinced that once his bill becomes law, more sportsbooks taxed at lower rates will produce even better results, a tough sell for lawmakers and a big hit with operators looking to increase their profit margins.

Pretlow’s bill would also allow New York casinos and the tribes and outside operators they work with to launch online casinos, a major shift in how those partners already do business.

As New York’s sports betting market continues to evolve we will keep you informed, so check back for all the latest news and updates.