A surge in mobile sports betting has brought New York State a boost in gaming revenue. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's report Sports Wagering in New York details the growth but also identifies potential problems, including gambling addiction, as sports wagering evolves.
On line gambling apps, such as Draft Kings, Fan Duel, Bet MGM and others, seek to entice users to bet on sports, play games on the portals, and wager in other ways.
New York saw explosive growth in revenue from activity on the apps, over the past year.
Our report shows that the revenue has grown 78% in just a few years to over a $1 billion in state fiscal year 2026, and that it is now the largest source of revenue collections in terms of gaming activities after the lottery,” said Maria Doulis, Deputy Comptroller for Budget and Policy and Analysis at the Office of New York Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli.
She noted that much of that revenue growth might have simply been siphoned from casino profits, making it unclear how much the state can count on it in the budget. There has also growth in another type of betting platform, raising concerns.
Prediction sites, such as Kalshi and Poly-market traffic in a lot of sports betting and are getting more popular. Doulis explained they aren’t regulated or taxed like other gambling. Gambling through casinos and betting apps is taxed at 51% of revenue generated after betting wins are paid out.
The prediction sites do not fall under similar gaming licenses. Plus, they have lower age limits. That has led to another concern over all the betting apps, an increase in gambling abuse, especially in younger users.
“We're talking about a generation that's tethered to its phones and is very comfortable, on apps, doing these things. And so, both the anonymity, the privacy, the ease of access really make it different from other sorts of gaming activities. … Young people are more vulnerable with the mobile sports betting and that it can lead to an increase in problem behaviors relative to other forms of gaming,” Doulis said.
With 2,545 calls to the state’s HOPEline last year, up 8.5% from 2020, data backs up the concern “just the increase in the calls to the hope line (and ) other social service providers talking about this,” said Doulis, who added even users spot the problems, “participants who block themselves because they say, ‘whoa, I've kind of gone past my limit. I got to put some limits on myself.’”
More than 7 million people have accounts on these various betting and prediction apps. Doulis concluded This latest report points to the need for more data to best regulate the market and protect consumers.
