1.10.22 - Online sports betting shatters records in first New York weekend
' Sports betting began in a big way in New York over the weekend.
Empire State gamblers flocked to their online bookies on Saturday and Sunday as the first days of legalized mobile sports gambling brought a record number of legal bets into New York. One of the state’s online operators crashed because of demand.
More than 17 million sports betting transactions were placed in New York state over the weekend, and the 8 million transactions placed from within New York City’s five boroughs exceeded those of any standalone state in the country, according to figures from GeoComply, a gaming data firm in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“In just 12 hours, New York has become the top state for sports betting in the U.S.!” wrote Lindsay Slader, managing director of GeoComply, in a LinkedIn post on Saturday. “A launch this size is historically unprecedented, with volumes eclipsing the second-closest-ranked state, Pennsylvania, by approximately 2.5 times.”
Sen. Joseph Addabbo of Queens, who ushered the mobile sports betting law through Albany last year, didn’t seem surprised that the state broke records in its first days.
“We knew the volume, and this is the potential of New York and why, with the right product, I’m confident we can eclipse New Jersey and Nevada,” Addabbo said. “It was evident this weekend.”
Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow of Yonkers said the online betting accounts New Yorkers previously used in New Jersey automatically transferred back to New York when portals opened on Saturday morning.
“I knew it was going to be big,” he said. “One-third of all bets [from New Yorkers] were placed in New Jersey, and now those are all coming home.” '
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