We have arrived at the height of interest in pro football, the playoffs. Go Bills!
Many fans live or die with the success or failure of their team but most folks can settle into waiting for the next opponent or next season if things don’t go their way for the team. The sun will come up tomorrow.
But another growing approach to sports enthusiasm is upon us: mobile sports wagering (MSW). The state Gaming Commission reports that “more than 5.6 million unique sports betting accounts have been created since [the mobile sports wagering] launch in January 2022.” Those account holders can place wagers across a range of 20 sports from American Cornhole events to professional football. The handle on NBA bets is actually larger than the NFL.
In the state’s 2022-2023 fiscal year the MSW with the largest handle was FanDuel ($6.8 billion) followed by Draft King ($5 billion). The other seven MSW operators combined handled $4.6 billion. The months with the biggest handle were January (NFL playoffs), March (NCAA tournament), and December (likely NFL).
Nearly two years ago I published a post about gambling in New York State (https://politicsandstuff.com/2022/03/21/gambling-activity-and-state-revenues-are-skyrocketing/). I traced the growth in gaming from bingo to MSW, which was just getting started in New York.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli in October released a report on the subject. In 2012 the state collected $2.8 billion in revenues from the various forms of gambling. In 2023 the total was $4.8 billion. The largest source of revenue among the options remains the lottery but MSW is growing quicker.
There are now nine MSW companies operating in New York. Interestingly, because of the requirement in state law that sports betting can only be conducted through one the state’s authorized casinos, all but one of the computer networks for those companies is based in the same casino in the Catskills.
Here is some important information included in DiNapoli’s report:
- Gaming revenues produce 3.6 percent of the state’s total operating funds (excluding federal receipts). Education receives $4.6 billion of those funds; municipalities get $107.2 million.
- Out of the state’s take from online betting the state allocates $6 million annually to help people who have developed a gambling addiction. Five million dollars goes to promote youth sports.
- About one out of every eight dollars that the state spends on elementary and secondary education comes from all forms of gaming allowed in the state. In other words, about $115 million of the $919 million that the Buffalo School System receives from the state this year comes from gambling proceeds. The same proportion is true for other school districts.
- The state’s take is 51 percent of gross revenues from MSW for the first ten years of operations.
Governor Kathy Hochul this past Friday announced “the State has collected more than $1.55 billion in taxes on such bets, most of it to be used for education. Last year’s $862 million, when added to $693 million as well as $200 million in licensing fees collected in 2022 brings the total generated revenue to $1.75 billion, which has shattered national records for mobile sports wagering. Over the last two years, New York is the clear leader in providing responsible entertainment for millions while bringing in record-shattering revenue for education, youth sports, and problem gambling prevention.” Actually the portion of the MSW revenues going to gambling prevention and youth sports so far is remaining the same each year, which means that a diminishing share of those revenues will be going for youth sports and gambling prevention.
What about the consequences?
“The [state Gaming] Commission’s regulations require operators to prevent underage gaming, provide bettors the availability to impose spending limits, and share information on gambling risks and signs of problem gambling. New Yorkers who are struggling with a gambling problem or know someone with a gambling problem can call the state’s toll-free, confidential HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or text HOPENY (467369).”
You may have seen some version of the above information and advice flashed on your TV screen at the end of the ads for MSW providers. It is in the same small font that you see at the end of pharmaceutical commercials about the side effects of a drug. The font and the brief appearance of such warnings may make the company/providers feel better about themselves.
Among the duties of the state’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) is assisting those who have become addicted to gambling. Here are some observations from the Office of the State Comptroller about gambling addiction and the role of the OASAS:
- “Research indicates higher rates of gambling problems among individuals wagering with a mobile device, enabled by the accessibility, privacy and ease of smartphone use. These features, as well as the inducements provided by some mobile apps, can increase engagement, facilitate compulsive behaviors, and lead users to making a wider variety of and higher risk bets.”
- “Other research indicates higher rates of problem gambling among young people, who typically spend more time on smartphones; early challenges with problem gambling may also lead to other problems later in life.”
- “The legislation authorizing mobile sports wagering in New York required the Gaming Commission – in conjunction with OASAS – to submit annual reports to the Governor and the Legislature ‘on the impact of mobile sports wagering on problem gamblers in New York, including, to the extent practicable, an analysis of demographics which are disproportionately impacted by the problem gambling.’ The six page, first annual report – issued in April 2023 and updated in June 2023, and paid for by MSW licensees – contains very limited data on the impact of MSW on problem gambling in the State and demographic information on individuals affected by the addiction.”
- “Finally, the report quantifies a 26 percent increase in problem gambling-related calls to the OASAS substance use and gambling HOPEline number (1-877-8-HOPENY) from 2021 to 2022, as well as an apparent leveling off in the number of current-year calls through March 2023. The HOPEline provides free and confidential information about addiction and problem gambling assessments, interventions, treatment and support in the State. The report acknowledges the limited information it provides by stating a request for ‘additional demographic information of participants from all mobile sports wagering operators’ that the Gaming Commission and OASAS expect to include in future annual reports.”
Perhaps if the report by the OASAS on problem gambling was not paid for by MSW licenseesit might be more insightful and useful in dealing with the problem, which is likely to grow in the future.
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