New York Considering Bill That Would Grow Sports Betting Market, Cut Taxes

The Empire State is considering drastically changing its record-setting sports betting market.

New York Assemblywoman Carrier Woerner has introduced sports betting bill A6013 into the state legislature. The proposal calls for creating seven more operating licenses, further expanding the country’s largest market. In addition to the new permits, a tiered tax system would replace the 51% flat rate.

The tiered tax system would be the first of its kind. Unlike the Illinois tiered tax rate, New York’s would be determined by the number of operators in the market. For example, the highest rate is 50% and would be assessed when 10-12 operators are in the market. If the market grew to 15-16, the rate would drop to 25%.

Proponents believe that the lower tax rate and industry-leading revenue will attract operators, leading to a larger and more competitive market. This would give New York bettors more platforms to choose from and lead to better odds and bonuses as operators look to compete.

A similar proposal was seen in the New York Senate in 2023 but failed to gain much momentum.

Proposal Comes with Risks

Many states have been looking to make changes to improve their sports betting markets, but most of them see the Empire State as the gold standard. That is because New York is the largest market in the US, and it set impressive revenue records in 2024.

Some lawmakers have spoken out against the bill, arguing that changing their thriving sports betting market would be a mistake. The bill would give bettors more options, but there is no guarantee those licenses could be filled. Smaller operators would need to enter the market, but they may be unwilling to pay the high costs, knowing that FanDuel and DraftKings own most of the market share.