A lawmaker in New York has proposed big changes to the U.S.’s most lucrative sports betting market.
Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner’s A6013, introduced this week, would not only allow for but require more sportsbooks to enter the Empire State and would significantly reduce tax on sports wagering as the market grows.
Currently, New York regulations allow for nine licensed sportsbooks, with revenue taxed at a nationwide high of 51%.
Woerner, who is the new chair of the Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee’s gaming committee, proposes allowing seven more licensees for a total of 16. It would be mandatory for New York to host 14 online sportsbooks by Jan. 31 next year, and that total would need to increase to 16 by the same date in 2027.
She also suggests trimming the tax down to 50% while the market hosts up to a dozen online sportsbooks, reducing it to 35% once there are 13 or 14 operators and cutting it as low as 25% by the time New York hosts 15 or 16 sportsbooks.
Licenses would be granted on a rolling basis and operators could continue to apply even if they are not granted a license the first time. Operators would pay $50 million for a license, while platform providers would be charged half that amount.
The bill, which is a similar reworking of bills filed in 2021 and 2023, will be heard in the Racing and Wagering Committee.
New York’s market worth $2 billion to sportsbooks
Nearly $23 billion was bet online on sports in 2024, resulting in just over $2 billion in revenue for the state’s seven sportsbooks: FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM, Fanatics, BetRivers, Bally Bet, Resorts World Bet and most recent entry ESPN Bet.
The 51% tax rate reaped more than a billion dollars in sports betting tax revenue for the state last year, up more than 20% from 2023.
Other states look up to NY for inspiration?
The sky-high tax rate in New York has been the subject of much debate, but it seems to have been a model of inspiration for other states. A since-deferred measure in Louisiana sought to match the 51% levy, more than trebling it from its current 15%. Illinois has already moved to taxing top-tier operators 40% and Ohio‘s governor wants that rate for all of their sportsbooks compared to its current rate of 20% and its original rate of 10%.
Just this week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy proposed increasing the rate in New York’s neighbor market from 13% to 25%.
Plenty of observers will be interested in whether New York’s latest proposal to move in the other direction gains any traction this time around.
