The opening of New York to legalised mobile sports betting has proven to be as successful as anticipated, with the hugely popular, high-GDP state generating promising turnover.

Discussing developments in the Empire State on the latest Legal Sports Report podcast, Co-Host Matt Brown acknowledged that ‘there will be a fall off’ after the conclusion of the NFL season, which is naturally given the nature of sports betting, but New York could maintain momentum.

However, New York is a multisport state, home to three National Hockey League (NHL) teams, two National Basketball Association (NBA) franchises, two Major League Baseball (MLB) outfits and two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs. 

This, coupled with the high possibility of major boxing matches taking place in New York City as well as an abundance of popular college athletics teams scattered throughout the state, , could maintain strong revenue throughout the year. 

“I’m a native New Yorker, and I grew up on college basketball,” said LSR Co-Host, Adam Candee. “More than anything, when it came to this time of year, this is what I thought about.”

He added: “It’s a hugely popular hockey region, the New York Rangers are playing extremely well this year and there’s some renewed interest in that team. You’re going to have some of that volume going past the NFL season.”

However, although the New York betting scene may be booming, this could have a negative impact on its southern neighbour in the state of New Jersey. 

Prior to the legalisation of New York sports betting, as alluded to by Brown, many New Yorkers ‘made the trek’ over the state border into New Jersey in order to place online bets on American football, hockey and other popular sports – the numbers of people doing so can be expected to greatly diminish over the next year.

Meanwhile, Brad Allen observed that there is a strong tax benefit to operators of encouraging players – especially high staking ones – to continue visiting New Jersey sportsbooks. 

In comparison to New York, which has imposed a tax rate of 51% under the plans of former state Governor Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey sees sportsbooks taxed between 12-14%. 

“I’ve heard analysts make the argument that it might increase New Jersey’s handle, as you can sign up the big fish in New York and get them over the border and wager there.”

Although many were expecting a fall in New Jersey revenue and player numbers, Allen further noted that average New Jersey geolocation ‘pings’ rose from 12.6 million in the two weeks to 13.1 million in the two weeks after the launch. 

“Everyone was predicting New Jersey was going to drop off significantly, we’ve not seen it yet and we might not see it,” he concluded.