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lthough the entire US sports betting industry continues to post some impressive numbers, New York has not been a part of that trend in most months.
But now, sports betting got off to a strong start to 2021 in January, with the state’s four commercial retail sportsbooks bringing in more than $3.57 million combined in gross gaming revenue, a figure that could set the stage for a huge year.
In December 2020, the gross gaming revenue was just $2.3 million, so it is clear that there was a huge demand to begin the year in 2021, according to U.S. Betting Report. New York has had legal sports betting since July 2019, but there has not been a ton of growth since that time.
Rivers Casino and Resort had the best month of the four commercial sportsbooks, and also set a new property record. Gross sports betting revenue at Rivers came in at $1.43 million, passing the previous record that was set in October 2020.
The Del Lago Casino and Resort offers sports betting through DraftKings Sportsbook, and January was the first month that the property has gone over the $1 million mark for gaming revenue. According to the report, DraftKings Sportsbook posted a GGR of $1.27 million.
Resorts World Catskills was the only property in the state that did not set a new monthly record in January 2021. FanDuel Sportsbook, which operates at Tioga Downs, set a new record by posting a GGR of $390,349 in January.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has changed his stance on online sports betting, and he is now backing a bill that would launch this portion of the industry. Cuomo initially believed that a constitutional amendment was needed to offer online sports betting, but he has backed off of that stance.
Lawmakers have started to discuss this issue in recent weeks, but nothing appears to be imminent at this time. Until New York is able to launch online sportsbooks, the state will continue to fall well short of neighboring New Jersey.
In 2020, New Jersey posted a sports betting handle of more than $6 billion, and 92 percent of those bets were made online or through a mobile device. New Jersey is now the largest sports betting market in the United States, and the lack of online betting in New York has helped the Garden State thrive.
If New York is able to finally offer online betting, it could easily become the top sports betting market in the United States. Following the plan that is used in New Jersey would be a great way to go, but Cuomo has actually looked to much smaller states for guidance.
Even though January sports betting provided a huge boost to New York, the state is still well behind where it hoped to be. The state continues to leave money on the table, and New Jersey is willing to pick that money up.
