NY Tops $2.0 Billion in Mobile Sports Betting Handle / Caesars Secures 21% Market Share

In sports betting news, the numbers are starting to roll in for the year ended December 31, 2021. Let’s take a look.

NY Crushes One Month Sports Betting Handle Mark

After posting the state’s mobile sports betting handle for the first 30 days of existence, New York has again proven the experts right. New York is officially the mobile sports betting leader in the U.S.

For the first 30 days of sports betting activity that started on January 8, 2022, New York sports bettors wagered $1.98 billion through the state’s six licensed sports bettors. Those six sports betting operators include Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, DraftKings, and BetRivers. Regardless of when the state went past the $2.0 billion mark, it became the fastest state in U.S. sports betting history to clear that level. That’s quite a distinction given that just one year ago, it was unclear when mobile sports betting would get approved in NY.

While these numbers don’t reflect the handle brought in by Super Bowl LVI, the NFL playoffs assuredly played a big role in generating this kind of handle. It is worth noting that a reported $472 million was wagered online in the week leading up to the Super Bowl. With the NFL season gone, it will be interesting to see where the numbers head. Just the same, it has become clear that NY sports bettors will be leading the march into the future with California, Florida, and Texas waiting in the wings.

For a little perspective, it doesn’t look like Tennessee is going to clear $2.0 billion within its first year of legalized mobile sports betting. And, New York did that in just over one month. That has to be pleasing to the New York State Treasurer who will be getting access to 51% of the gross revenue generated by the $2.0 billion in mobile sports bets. At an estimated hold rate of 7%, New York will be getting $71.4 million, quite a haul.

Caesars Reports 2021 Sports Betting Numbers - Confirm 21$ Market Share

When Caesars Entertainment purchased UK gambling behemoth William Hill in mid-2021, the company was clearly signaling that it intended on becoming a major player in the U.S. sports betting community. They further acknowledge their intentions when they committed to spending $1.0 billion in marketing/advertising costs for the fiscal year. Clearly, they accomplished their mission.

During the company’s Q4 earnings call with investors, Caesars Entertainment (CZR) CEO Tom Reeg Proudly reported that the company had achieved 21% of the mobile sports betting market. He further reported that after attaining the company’s goals, they would now start to scale back marketing expenditures.

It’s worth noting that the 2021 marketing campaign centered on TV advertising with famous personalities representing the brand. Reeg indicated that’s where a majority of the marketing cuts will be in 2022. Here is what he told investors:

“There’s some media spend that we couldn’t get out of coming into March Madness in a couple of states. But we will largely be off of traditional media other than in new launch states from here, and launch dates in both iGaming and sports.”