Millions of bettors from New York will no longer have to take the trip to nearby states like New Jersey just to place a wager on sports. Legal online sports betting will become fact in New York on Saturday, January 7th 2022.
Expected to be the largest online sports betting market in the country, New York will have four companies competing for the newly legal bettors right off the gate on Saturday. Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and Rush Street Interactive have all received the green light by the state and will open their virtual doors this weekend to NY customers.
Initially, nine gambling companies were vying for the coveted licensing by the state, but only the four aforementioned businesses managed to satisfy New York’s legal and regulatory requirements on time and will be good to go on Saturday.
And while online sports betting in New York is expected to generate the largest revenue from any other state, the profits will also be taxed with the highest percentage in the country – 51% on the gross. For comparison, New Jersey’s tax rate on the online gambling companies is at 13% and Michigan’s is at the puny 3.78% on gross revenues. The state of New York has already received nearly $200 million from the licensing fees of the four companies.
The higher tax rate will certainly limit the promotions many of the online sportsbooks are used to in order to attract customers and compete with each other.
Regardless, tax revenue is projected to be more than $500 million in the first year, especially when considering that legal online sports betting in New York will start before the big games of the winter – the college football final and the Super Bowl.
