The state of New York recently experienced a dip in its commercial sportsbook revenue. According to November figures, the state experienced a 41% drop in its sports betting revenue in November.

Dismal figures for NY

The state earned $2.2 million in revenue from sports betting in October, but that number fell to $1.3 million in November. Interestingly, November is often the busiest sporting month in the entire year. It is now becoming evident that the state has to approach sports betting in a completely different way. Following in its neighbor New Jersey’s footsteps isn’t helping the fourth most populous state in New York. It is high time that the state looks at wagering in a new light.

According to a New York State Gaming Commission report, the four upstate casinos in the state have disappointed terribly in terms of sports betting revenue. With millions of dollars in backing and high-end betting experience, the casinos have been unable to win big.

What’s wrong with New York?

The biggest problem with the New York casinos is that they are located far away from the people who might want to use their service. It has three tribal sportsbooks and four commercial casinos located far away from the metropolitan area that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to reach the venues. The revenue doesn’t get funneled through a proper channel in the state.

On the other hand, New Jersey has allowed mobile sportsbooks to operate in the state, which allows more people to participate in sports wagering. People are not restricted by place and time to bet on their favorite teams. This helps in increasing revenue manifold. New York bettors don’t have a good mobile betting option because of which they might have to travel across the state to bet using their mobiles. Some of them simply avoid wagering. Both scenarios make New York lose money.

A new study by the Gaming Commission that was expected to explore the possibility of allowing mobile gambling at the four upstate casinos will be available in May 2020. It would be months before we finally get to see if such an option is worth it. Moreover, we will only see some legislative action from the state lawmakers next year. Till then, the punters will either have to move to the casinos, go to New Jersey or give up on betting altogether.