SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – New York state is cashing in as the year wraps up. Through ten months, New York’s decision to legalize sports betting in January has paid off. As Governor Hochul announced last week, the state has surpassed $500 million dollars in tax revenue.
The Empire State set a record in September of $73 million. The previous record, $63 million, was set in New York’s first month of operation. For context, the next highest is Pennsylvania at $19 million a year ago in November.
According to the governor’s announcement, upwards of $527 million will go toward education. The additional $6 million and $5 million is set to go to problem gambling treatment and youth sports, respectively.
Thomas Viola, head of content at Unabated Sports, believes New York is a role model across the country and an example of what other states are missing out on.
“It’s a really high selling point in every state where it’s not legal,” Viola said. “Every state where it’s not legalized, the big push is look at all the tax revenue that you’re leaving on the table.”
He thinks betting is the future of the business. Viola recognizes the hesitancy for change, but he’s confident leagues and networks will embrace sports wagering soon.
“This is the stuff that people want to see,” Viola said. “Every time Al Michaels eludes to a field goal being really important for the total or the spread everybody’s like ‘okay why can’t he just say it, he should be able to just talk about it at this point’ because that’s what people want to hear.”
With the rise of the industry, there’s been a noticeable increase in people are who are struggling. Elizabeth Toomey, the team leader for the Central Problem Gambling Resource Center, is seeing an uptick in calls for help.
October and November are the perfect storm with the overlap of so many sports. The one thing that most people have is what makes sports gambling dangerous.
“I think the biggest thing we’re seeing is…with mobile sports betting, 85 percent of the population has this [smart phone] at their finger tips,” Toomey said. “It can be done 24/7. You don’t have to leave your home to do it.”
GeoComply, the software firm that sportsbooks use to ensure geolocation requirements, indicates that over 11 million unique player accounts have been created in New York since January. There has been roughly 985 million transactions.
“That’s a lot of transactions and a lot of people betting,” Toomey said. “Even if you take a small percentage of people who might run into problems with that, that’s still a lot of New Yorkers that are struggling.”
If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the Central Problem Gambling Resource Center at 315-413-4676.
