New York legalized mobile sports betting three years ago. According to the Gaming Commission, players wagered $58 billion in the state. In addition, NY sports betting operators lead the nation by a considerable margin. Thus, state officials expect the gaming industry to continue its growth. On the other hand, big states such as California and Texas haven’t legalized mobile sports wagering.
According to bookie pay per head reports, nearly 20% of the state’s gaming income comes from wagers on sporting events; the remaining 80% comes from slot machines, horse races, and the lottery. (Mobile sports betting generated $1.7 billion in income in the fiscal year of 2023–2024; the largest lottery in the US, New York’s, brought in $8.2 billion.)
Supporters of the sector argue that the state’s public schools have significantly benefited from the tax money generated by the gambling industry. However, education experts point out that the amount allocated to education has nothing to do with the amount made from sports betting. An increasing amount of data suggests that legalization may be adding to the rising consumer debt and bankruptcies, while the accessibility of mobile betting may worsen addicted gambling behaviors.
Legalized Sports Betting
The United States Supreme Court invalidated a federal statute that had been in place for decades and made it nearly impossible to wager on sporting events. (There were exceptions to that rule, and horse racing was one of them.)
As of 2022, mobile betting is permitted in 30 states, including New York, and the practice has been authorized in 38 states since then. With a record-breaking $2.3 billion mobile bet in October 2024, the sector saw remarkable growth in this region.
According to pay per head news reports, the state keeps a sizable portion of it. Along with Rhode Island and New Hampshire, New York has the nation’s highest tax rate on operators’ income from online sports betting at 51%. The revenue from this industry has consistently surpassed the state’s predictions, and the state’s Division of the Budget anticipates that this trend will persist.
Revenue from NY Sports Betting Operators and other States
Most of the state’s money from gambling taxes, including sports betting and lottery winnings, goes toward public schools. That sum accounts for almost 15% of the state’s funding for education. From January 2022 to December 2024, the state’s education system received over $2.6 billion from mobile sports betting, according to the most recent data from the state Gaming Commission, which regulates the gambling business.
Despite the gambling industry’s claims that schools will benefit from the state’s increased regulated betting, the total education budget may not rise due to this money. Still, state officials have recently advocated increasing overall school financing through more casino income. In the last decade, state revenue from gambling and lottery taxes has risen roughly 70%.
The fast expansion of the sector across the country has lawmakers and campaigners worried about the potential for addiction and mounting debt. Among the significant costs associated with legalization that preliminary studies have highlighted include an increase in marital violence following home team losses, a decrease in household investment of 14%, and a surge in bankruptcies of 28%.
Given the accessibility of mobile betting, the National Council on Problem Gambling has issued a warning that it may heighten the risk of problematic gambling. One study found that once sports betting was legalized, there was a significant spike in calls to addiction hotlines.
There was a 26% spike in calls to New York’s “gambling HOPEline” during the first year mobile sports betting was legal in the state. A tiny portion of the money that the state makes from sports betting goes toward programs that help people with “problem gambling” learn about and get help for their addiction.
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