Bill Floated to Expand New York Online Sports Betting, Reduce Taxes

• New York legislators will mull over a bill to increase the number of online sports betting operators
• The bill will also reduce the online sports betting tax rate in direct correlation with the new licenses
• The bill will allow for a maximum of seven new sports betting licenses

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New York sports betting is by far the most successful market in the country, but one legislator thinks it can be even better.

Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D-113) yesterday introduced A6013, a bill to potentially expand the amount of New York online sports betting licenses and reduce the state tax rate to as little as 25%.

New York’s currently sports one of the highest tax rates in the country at 51%.

Maximum of 16 Online Sports Betting Licenses

Woerner’s legislation will allow for up to a maximum of 16 online sports betting licenses in New York, up from the current nine licenses that are available.

It’s a similar piece of legislation Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-15), introduced in 2023.

The bill mandates that 14 online sports betting operators be active in New York by Jan. 31, 2026, and 16 be active in the Empire State by Jan. 31, 2027.

Similarly to how the original nine licenses were awarded, the New York State Gaming Commission will accept applications in a public process and grant new licenses. Licenses will be granted on a rolling basis to expedite the process and maximize revenues to the state.

The bill will allow any operator who previously applied for a license to apply again.

Platform providers authorized to offer online sports betting will pay a fee of $25 million for a license, while online sports betting operators will pay a fee of $50 million for a license.

The new legislation also calls for a reduction in the state’s sports betting tax rate concurrent with the addition of new operators. The tax rates will be reduced as such for the number of total sports betting operators:

• 10 to 12 online sports betting operators: 50% tax rate
• 13 to 14 operators: 35% tax rate
• 15 or more operators: 25% tax rate

Conversations to expand the number of operators, and lower the New York tax rate, have been ongoing for the past several years. Any additional operator will be coming into the most profitable sports betting markets in the country, but also one of the most expensive.

Is Change Worth It?

Detractors to New York online sports betting expansion believe change to the market may do more harm than good when it’s already the largest in the country.

New York reported more than $22.6 billion in online sports betting handle for 2024, topping its previous high in 2023 of $19.1 billion.

The online sports betting market in the state has grown every single year in terms of handle, gross gaming revenues, and tax revenues.

Gross gaming revenues and tax revenues also followed suit, as the state experienced highs in both for 2024. The commission reported $2,044,005,840 in gross gaming revenues, an increase of 20.9% over the 2023 gross gaming revenue total of $1,689,883,800.

The most impressive total? New York took in more than $1 billion in sports betting tax revenue for the year, reporting $1,042,442,978 in tax revenues. The final total was nearly a 21% increase over the 2023 tax revenue total of $861,840,738.