By Katherine Sayre
New York state gambling regulators approved online sports-betting licenses Monday for nine operators including FanDuel Group, DraftKings Inc. and BetMGM to operate in the new market.
The companies' sports-betting revenue would be taxed at 51%, one of the highest among states where sports wagering is legal, said regulators. Still, New York's huge population represents a potentially lucrative mobile betting market for gambling companies. New York has estimated that mobile gambling will eventually generate about $482 million in annual tax revenue from a $1 billion sports wagering market.
The New York State Gaming Commission voted to approve two groups of betting operators for 10-year licenses on Monday. In one group, FanDuel organized with DraftKings; the online division of Bally's Corp.; and BetMGM, a partnership of MGM Resorts International and Entain PLC.
The other group includes Rush Street Interactive Inc.; Caesars Entertainment Inc.; the online division of Wynn Resorts Ltd.; PointsBet New York LLC; and Empire Resorts Inc. doing business as Resorts World. The group also includes Kambi Group PLC providing some betting technology.
This means that New Yorkers will be able to make bets on their mobile phones, after the state had previously limited sports betting to wagers made in person at casinos.
New York is "vital to ensuring nationwide leadership in sports betting and iGaming over time," said BetMGM Chief Executive Adam Greenblatt in a statement.
More to come...
Write to Katherine Sayre at katherine.sayre@wsj.com