NY sports betting enters second week with insane offers

New York enters its second week of online sports betting. It just happens to be the NFL Wild Card round.

How big will the handle be? How many ads will we see on TV?

One thing is clear: NY sportsbooks are continuing to roll out massive bonus offers to entice new users to sign up.

NY Sports Betting Current Picture

Currently, four mobile sportsbook apps are available for bettors in New York: DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and BetRivers. On Monday, BetMGM will enter the fray– in time to onboard customers ahead of the last NFL Wild Card game.

With the exception of BetRivers, betting apps are rolling out aggressive offers to bring new bettors into the fold in New York.

A recent Sportico article outlined the massive customer acquisition spend despite New York’s 51% tax on sports betting revenue. In short, sports betting operators view the size of the market and brand equity of being a top sportsbook in NY as worth the price of admission, so to speak.

So just what do those offers look like? Here are the 3 biggest this weekend.

Caesars $300 Free Bet + $3,000 Deposit Match

Caesars Sportsbook, through its spokesperson JB Smoove (Caesar!), has attracted the most attention with their NY launch by offering new players $300 free on registration along with a deposit match of up to $3,000– an industry high.

This is one of the strongest offers we’ve seen both because of the amount and varied nature of the bonus money. You rarely see free bets of more than $100 or deposit matches of more than $1,000. Caesars has effectively 3X these amounts for online sports betting in NY.

The $300 free bet is doled out on registration, giving users a way to test the app. Their first deposit is matched up to $3,000. It’s worth noting most bettors will not deposit this much and, thus, Caesars is not on the hook for the full amount on average.

DraftKings Sportsbook’s 56 to 1 Odds

DraftKings Sportsbook is rolling out 56 to 1 odds on any NFL playoff game or the Super Bowl for new users who place their first with DraftKings NY.

This is a special promo for the NFL, but users will actually have the choice between DrafKings’ standard $1,050 bonus or the 56 to 1 promo.

We prefer the latter for new bettors in NY because it allows a simple way to onboard themselves into the app. Simply place $5 on any NFL team for your first bet and earn $280 in site credits if they win.

That’s easy enough.

FanDuel Sportsbook $1,000 Risk-Free Bet

FanDuel Sportsbook is likely New York’s most bet app through the first week. And while they are rolling out 30 to 1 odds on any game this week, we prefer their more straightforward $1,000 risk-free bet for New York betting.

It’s exactly what it sounds like: FanDuel will refund first bets in site credit if they lose– up to $1,000.

How Can NY Betting Justify Massive Signup Bonuses?

Simple math would indicate that, combined with a 51% tax rate on earnings, these promos will take a long time for NY sportsbooks to recoup. But they are playing the long game. Never mind that most bettors don’t take advantage of the full signup bonus or withdraw money from the app, there are other ways for the big betting apps to monetize customers.

Good take from @HowieLongShort this morning on US sportsbooks becoming much more than just betting.

Now, what happens when they layer in NFTs, trading cards, crypto, apparel, tickets and media?@DKSportsbook @FanDuel @michaelrubin @stoolpresidente all come to mind.

Super App. pic.twitter.com/5HppForqlu
— Kyle Scott Laskowski (@KyleScottL) January 14, 2022

As Kyle’s Tweet indicates, DraftKings and FanDuel have ambitions to become more than just “sports betting apps” in New York. In fact, both already offer daily fantasy games. In states where it’s legal, they both have an online casino. And DraftKings offers an NFT marketplace. Over time, these betting apps will extend to be platforms, or “sports wallets”. So the customer value may turn out to be substantial– much higher than the bonus amounts doled out to new customers.