Resorts World Bet, one of the original nine mobile sportsbooks that launched in New York in 2022, announced Monday it will close shop June 30.
On both its website landing page and via post on the social media site X, Resorts World announced it will accept bets and deposits through June 16, and withdrawals must be made by June 22. Resorts World will then shutter its mobile operations June 30.
Resorts World had struggled to gain traction throughout its time in the Empire State, first vying with Bally Bet and long-departed WynnBET for the No. 7 spot in terms of handle and revenue. That evolved into dueling with Bally Bet to avoid the basement after ESPN Bet entered the state last September. Resorts World never surpassed $3.5 million in handle spanning 170 weeks of operations following its March 2022 launch, and its best week in terms of revenue was $333,814.
Resorts World will become the third of the original nine mobile operators to leave New York, with WynnBET selling its license to Penn Entertainment for $25 million in February 2024. While Fanatics Sportsbook entered New York in March 2024, it did so by acquiring PointsBet’s license as part of its acquisition of the Australia-based sportsbook’s North American assets.
Numbers, potential suitors, and a potential price tag
Heading into its final three weeks of operations, Resorts World has totaled $263.3 million handle and $17.7 million in revenue, good for a 6.7% hold. It topped $10 million in monthly handle on two occasions, reaching an all-time high of $10.5 million in March. It never obtained even 1% of monthly handle market share among mobile sportsbooks.
Resorts World also never cleared $1 million in monthly revenue, topping out at $894,039 in October 2023. As points of comparison, FanDuel holds New York’s weekly handle record at $274.7 million, and it has combined with DraftKings to surpass $20 million in weekly winnings 64 times.
The mobile sportsbook most likely to be linked as a potential suitor to buy Resorts World’s license is bet365. It is currently conducting mobile betting in 13 states, including neighboring New Jersey, and just launched in Illinois in March.
The England-based sportsbook has the deep pockets needed for promotional spend to be immediately competitive in New York and eventually put itself on a second tier with Fanatics, BetMGM, and Caesars. The downside to entering the Empire State is the 51% tax on revenue, especially coming on the heels of a new per-wager tax passed in Illinois that takes effect July 1. That is in addition to the state’s progressive tax on revenue in which bet365 could conceivably be paying a 35% rate by the end of a fiscal year.
Another potential suitor could be Hard Rock Bet, but that may be an option only if Hard Rock does not obtain one of the three downstate casino licenses to be awarded by the New York State Gaming Commission before the end of the year. Hard Rock is teaming with New York Mets owner Steve Cohen on an $8 billion bid for a casino adjacent to Citi Field in Queens, and its Metropolitan Park proposal is expected to be one of eight submitted to the NYSGC by June 27.
Penn Entertainment’s purchase of WynnBET’s license led to the arrival of ESPN Bet, but it has underwhelmed compared to expectations and contributed to battles between Penn’s board and activist investor HG Vora. ESPN BET has generated $393 million handle and $25.4 million in eight-plus months since launch, which is severely lagging behind Fanatics Sportsbook’s $1.59 billion in accepted wagers and $114 million in revenue in that same span.
If Resorts World does decide to sell its license, it would likely have to be a prorated price of the $25 million Penn paid, given Resorts World’s license has less than seven years remaining on its 10-year term.
