A New York legislation seeks to decrease mobile sports betting tax and allow for more sportsbook operators by 2027.

Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, who recently assumed the role of chair for the New York Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee, has plans to make some sports betting changes. Just recently, she submitted a bill which would decrease the sports betting tax and potentially bring more operators into the mix.

Bill A6013 is Submitted

Woerner seeks to implement a sports betting taxation scale based on the number of active operators in the state. She recently presented Bill A6013 to the committee, which would up the number of mobile sportsbooks from nine to 14 by 2026 and to 16 by 2027.

While New York is looking into decreasing sports betting tax, there have been discussions of hikes in the neighbouring New Jersey. Woerner’s bill would reduce the tax for mobile sports betting operators to 25%, which would make the Empire State’s market much more attractive for third-party operators.

At the moment, the state taxes the nine operators with a 51% rate, which is among the highest in the U.S. Here’s how Woerner’s scale looks like in numbers:

Current State of the Market

Currently, the Empire State’s online sports wagering market allows only for nine operators. The sector kicked off operations in early 2022. These operators are FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook, BetRivers, ESPN BET, Bally Bet, and Resorts World Bet.

ESPN Bet joined last, after purchasing the license from Wynn Bet for around US$25 million last year. Meanwhile, Fanatics Sportsbook acquired PointsBet’s place after purchasing the Australian operator’s U.S. assets almost two years ago.

But despite its limited model, the state has quickly become a leader in regulated mobile sports bets. For instance, for 2024, the nine sportsbooks generated approximately US$2.05 billion in revenue from a US$22.7 billion wagering volume. This was the largest for a state in 2024. Illinois was in second place with US$14 billion in handle and just over US$1 billion in gross gaming revenue.

Provided that New York ends up passing Woerner’s legislation and expands its digital sports betting scene, there are plenty of interested parties. Leading operators like bet365, Hard Rock Bet, and new ones like Prime Sports, Betr, and Underdog Sports seem to be interested in the market.

It remains to be seen how much the new legislation will progress in the Legislature. But it feels unusual for New York to decrease tax on sports betting while New Jersey tries to increase them. In the Garden State, Gov. Phil Murphy has suggested to increase the tax on online sports betting operators from 13% to 25%.

Meanwhile, Ohio also seeks to bump the taxes from 20% to 40%. Also, last summer, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker issued a progressive tax system. With this model, large name brands like FanDuel and DraftKings pay 40% in tax.

Land-Based Expansion is in the Works Too

Besides the effort to bolster online sports betting offerings, New York is also in the process of awarding three full-scale casino licenses in the downstate region. The issuance of these licenses was delayed, so the four upstate casinos could establish themselves in the local scene.

But now the New York State Gaming Commission is proceeding with the plan and there’s plenty of candidates. Many consider Resorts World New York City in Queen, and Empire City Casino in Yonkers, as favourites. The two already operate as existing gaming properties, and a license would mean that they will be able to bolster their gambling business.

They also tout plenty of community support, as various groups and unions have declared support for them. This is a major boost in the race for the licenses, as one of the factors that the commission demands is to have a full local support.

It’s a Battle for Third

With Resorts World NYC and Empire City Casino being the frontrunners, it means that the other dozen casino bids will be battling it out for the last license. One of them is Steve Cohen who has partnered with Hard Rock for a casino entertainment complext near Citi Field in Queens. The Metropolitan Park proposal was recently approved by the New York City Planning Commission, which was a major boost.

In the meantime, Caesars Entertainmnet, SL Green, and Roc Nation have expressed their desire to launch a casino in Times Square. Another strong candidate is the partnership between Thor Equities and Saratoga Casino Holdings, who have their eyes on a gamblign location in Coney Island.

There are also proposals from Las Vegas Sands for Nassau County, Soloviev Group and Mohegan Entertainment for First Avenue between East 38th and East 41st Streets, Wynn Resorts and Related Companies for Hudson Yards, along with a few others.

Still, the New York State Gaming Commission will have the final say. In the coming months, the commission will asses every casino bid on the following factors: community support, economic impact, timeline, and legal obstacles. The gambling regulator will most likely announce its verdict near the end of the 2025.