Sports leagues from around the world are heading to their summer off-seasons, causing New York to report another week of declining mobile sports betting volume. Now marking the fourth week in a row, sportsbooks have clocked in lower handle. For the week ending on May 28, 2023, the state reported weekly betting activity of around US$261.7 million.

Currently, the Empire State’s mobile sports betting market operates with a total of nine sportsbook apps, which offer and accept legal wagers on sporting events from all around the world. But despite its limited model, for its first 12 months of operations, the sector delivered more than US$700 million in tax revenue from wagers, with another US$200 million from licensing fees.

*Leagues are Coming to an End

At the end of the last working week, the New York State Gaming Commission issued its latest number for the market which covered the seven-day period ending on May 28, 2023. For the week, online sportsbooks generated just US$261.7 million in betting activity, which was 14.8% lower than the previous week’s tally and 23.6% from the first week of May 2023.

However, the good news for the sports betting operators was that for the week, they saw an immense jump in gross gaming revenue. For the week of May 28, the nine platforms clocked in around US$35.7 million in revenue, or 88.9% more than the previous week. Meanwhile, the hold for sportsbooks doubled, and it was the highest since the first week of May.

But even amidst the crumbling wagering volume from local bettors, FanDuel remains the most preferred choice in the jurisdiction. For the week of May 28, the locally-based app reported a handle of US$114.3 million, which was 8.5% down. Meanwhile, the operator saw a bounce in its gross gaming revenue as it hit US$19.8 million, while hold reached an impressive 17.3%.

DraftKings also kept its usual second place in the market and recorded a solid week-over-week increase in revenue with a total for the week of US$8.7 million with a 10%-win rate. Caesars Sportsbooks was in third with a handle of US$31.8 million and revenue of US$3.6 million, while BetMGM was fourth with a volume for the week of US$17.9 million.

*Further iGaming Expansion is on the Cards

In addition to online sports betting, New York is also looking to add online gambling as a legal option under a similar model. However, operators will have to wait a little while, as iGaming was not included in this year’s budget agenda. Sportsbooks were looking forward to its addition as it would have been a way to alleviate the state’s hefty tax rate of 51%.

But the Empire State is also worried about the increase iGaming and sports betting availability could lead to potential negative effects on residents. In January, Democrats Luis R. Sepúlveda presented Senate Bill S1550, which if passed, would require all gambling ads in the state to feature warnings about the possible downsides of betting, such as developing an addiction.

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