This week’s gambling news finds amazing records for mobile sports betting in New York, even with an insane tax rate. Not to be outdone, Hawaii is now considering sports betting with an even higher tax rate! And in case you missed it, more sports betting has launched in Louisiana!
Welcome my friends to another edition of This Week in Gambling, where we have sports betting news from Louisiana and Hawaii, of all places! But we begin with a record-breaking update for mobile sports betting in New York! This week’s big story started a little over three weeks ago when mobile sports betting finally went live in the Empire State with Caesar’s, DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetRivers! And now, barely 25 days later, New Yorkers have bet over $1.1 billion!
Since the launch of mobile sports betting in New York, both PointsBet and BetMGM have both joined the party, and that $1.1 billion bet means operators have profited over $91 million! And with that ridiculous 51% tax rate in place New York state has made $45 million in tax revenue! In a little over three weeks! Things will slow down at some point, but politicians in the state want to guarantee that the milk and honey keeps on flowing.
In fact, some in the State Assembly have even proposed a bill that, if passed, would lock in that higher tax rate permanently and prevent operators in the state from even asking for a tax reduction! That bill says, and I quote: “…once a tax rate has been established, no modification to such tax rate may be requested by a licensee.” That’s the operators, folks! Notice that it says nothing about the state raising the tax rate in the future! Greedy bastards!
And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then mobile sports betting in New York should feel like the prettiest girl at the prom as Hawaii is now considering sports betting following New York’s staggering success. And they’re considering a tax rate of 55%… 55%!!! Of course, gambling of any kind has been illegal in Hawaii for decades now, but it’s amazing how quickly any moral objections simply melt away when in the presence of the almighty dollar. Making their hypocrisy even worse is the fact that the tax rate they’re asking for borders on extortion! Hey, remember the good ol’ days when sports betting was run by the mob?
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And finally this week, with all the talk about mobile sports betting in New York and Hawaii, some of you may have missed the launch of mobile sports betting in Louisiana. That went live on January 28th, and now state residents can bet on the crawfish races! See, you guys think that was a joke… but it wasn’t.