YES, ONLINE WAGERING AND IN-PERSON SPORTS WAGERS ARE NOW LEGAL IN NEW YORK
New York wasted little time in passing the required laws to legalize sports betting once the federal ban was overturned.
Legal online sports betting went live on January 8th 2022. In-person betting was already legal and had been since 2019.
But the real changes in New York’s attitude towards legalized gambling can be traced back to 2013.
57% of those New Yorkers who voted agreed to the expansion of sports betting through tribal casinos in the state.
New York duly legalized sports betting at its commercial casinos and the move towards full legalisation took an important step forwards.
The Jump Hub writes a daily betting review of all NBA games, and major NCAA games. We look at the pre game odds and the full NBA betting results, together with the game highlights.
A TIMELINE OF SPORTS BETTING DEVELOPMENTS IN NEW YORK:
MARCH 14TH 2022:
After more than 1.5 billion dollars in bets are made during the previous month, the trend looks set to continue.
FEBRUARY 2022:
Over a billion dollars are wagered in the first 20 days of February. Throughout the whole month, more than $1.5 billion in revenue is taken on betting.
This creates a tax windfall of $41 million for the state of New York
JANUARY 8TH 2022:
Online betting is launched in New York via 4 apps that have been approved to cater to sports bettors.
DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook, and Rush Street Interactive.
This number rises to 7 by the end of the month.
New York almost immediately becomes the biggest legal sports betting state
In the first 30 days alone, New York’s sportsbooks take almost $2 billion in total bets. $70 million are taken in taxes.
The first weekend of NY online sports betting sees the creation of more than 650,000 new sportsbook accounts.
Over $150 million in wagers is collected from 17.2 million transactions through NY sportsbook apps. It might be fair to say that people we receptive to the idea…
2021:
Huge leaps forward are made in terms of sports betting in the state. The governor of New York indicates that he is willing to include mobile wagering in his state budget.
The state already suffers from a huge fiscal deficit that runs into billions of dollars. That is not helped by the global pandemic.
This willingness to legalize mobile sports betting looks set to generate an enormous revenue stream.
The governor originally expresses his preference for a lottery-based model that will only allow for a small number of operators.
This is similar to the arrangement in nearby New Hampshire.
The major flaw in this system is that it does not drive sportsbooks to compete and offer good promotions and the most attractive odds they can.
A broader, more open approach is eventually agreed upon.
In April 2021 the state agrees to allow 9 sportsbook operators to access the market in New York.
This is done via a bidding process and puts the final pieces in place for mobile betting to exist in New York.
NOVEMBER 24TH 2021:
The NY department of state officialises sports betting rules.
2020:
Another effort to reintroduce 2019 betting reform bills is pushed aside by the emergency situation created by the COVID 19 pandemic.
With the state legislative session disrupted, New York suffers its worst days in spring 2020.
When the session reconvenes it understandably turns to more important matters.
Towards the end of the year, Senators and State Assembly representatives reflect that the state is losing an estimated billion dollars a year in lost revenue.
They argue that its introduction would help to boost the state’s coffers that have been so negatively impacted by the pandemic.
The state budget still does not address sports betting in any significant way and there is no actual progress.
2019:
A mobile sports betting bill advances past the NY Senate but does not come up for a vote in the Assembly.
2018:
NY mobile sportsbook bills popped up in both chambers of the state legislature.
However, neither the Assembly nor the Senate chose to move the bills past the committee stage.
New York state legislators introduce sports betting bills in both the Assembly and Senate. Neither advance to the floor for consideration.
Although the bills stall, they are significant in that both contain an integrity fee to be paid to local sports leagues.
New York is the first state to accept this as an element of its bill.
One of the main proponents of this fee is the NBA
It demands 1% of all revenue bet on NBA games…
In fact, the league has a record of standing against legalized sports betting legislation.
Even bringing suits against states like New Jersey when they tried to navigate around PAPSA before its abandonment.
JANUARY 2018:
A public hearing on sports betting is held. New York legislators are preparing to move forwards with legislation.
Surprisingly, the NBA announces that it will no longer oppose New York’s attempts to legalize sports betting provided its conditions are met.
2017:
Lawmakers from both chambers introduce matching sports betting bills.
They move to extend sports betting permissions to horse tracks and off-track sites, in addition to commercial casinos.
The new casinos that are now authorized to include sports betting begin to open during 2017.
2015-16:
Sports betting bills continue to be introduced, returned to their chambers and shelved.
Their focus ranges from sports betting at horse racetracks to daily fantasy sports.
The latter receives a big setback when they are lumped in with all other forms of sports betting.
This effectively makes them illegal in New York and DraftKings and FanDuel are immediately instructed to cease operations in the state.
This is rectified in 2016 when a fantasy sports law passes.
2013-14:
New York voters have their say on sports betting in 2013.
They vote “yes” to casino expansion, including sports betting.
Voters pass the amendment
57% of them approve the expansion.
This allows casinos to operate retail sportsbooks and is a significant moment in the history of gambling in the state.
New York legalizes sports betting at its commercial casinos in 2013 and upstate casinos are built and opened within five years.
2011-2012:
Both chambers consider sports betting as bills are put forward, claiming that legalized sports wagering would reduce revenues for crime syndicates in the state.
The proposals would allow any constitutionally authorized casino to operate with a sports betting license.
It would also expand wagering to include collegiate events
Allocation of raised funds from tax revenue would be put towards education rather than enabling tax relief.
None of the bills advances out of the committee phase.
All three are, however, reintroduced in the 2013 session.
2009
The state’s first sports betting bill is introduced.
Aimed at horse tracks and off-track betting facilities, it allows for wagering on professional sporting events at those facilities.
The bill includes provisions for residents in the local area near the betting facilities to receive tax relief.
The bill stalls in committee
NEW YORK SPORTS BETTING OPTIONS
The options to place a legal sports bet in New York are now significantly more numerous than they were.
In-person sports wagering can be done in 11 of New York’s upstate casinos.
Those are:
Akwesasne Mohawk Casino & Resort: Sticks Sports Book & Grill
Del Lago Resort Casino: DraftKings Sportsbook
Point Place Casino: The Lounge with Caesars Sports
Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino: Sports Lounge
Resorts World Catskills: Sportsbook 360
Yellow Brick Road Casino: The Lounge with Caesars Sports
Rivers Casino & Resort: Rivers Sportsbook
Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino: Sports Lounge
Tioga Downs: FanDuel Sportsbook
Turning Stone Resort Casino: The Lounge with Caesars Sports
Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino: Sports Lounge
THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE NOW IS THAT IT CAN ALSO BE DONE ONLINE
The casinos are inconveniently placed for the majority of New York residents.
Some New York-based sports bettors were accustomed to travelling to New Jersey in order to place their bets.
That is no longer necessary
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN SPORTS BETTING IN NEW YORK?
Anyone physically located within the state is now eligible to participate in gambling, provided they are over the age of 21.
Mobile betting apps can be accessed using smartphones.
Location software will determine if they are located within state lines before they are able to proceed.
WHAT SPORTS CAN YOU BET ON LEGALLY IN NEW YORK?
Sports betting in New York allows for wagers to be placed on most popular professional sports. It also allows for wagering on many college sports.
The main restriction is that it is forbidden to place bets on colleges from within the Empire State.
Betting on other states’ college teams is permitted.
COMPARING AVAILABLE ONLINE SPORTSBOOKS IN NEW YORK
9 separate online betting operators now have provisional online sports betting licenses in New York.
Each of them must give 51% of their revenue to the state in the form of tax.
If this isn’t prohibitive enough for you, don’t forget about the mandatory $25 million application fee that New York sportsbooks must pay.
This surpasses the previous high in the United States of $20 million in Pennsylvania.
As with any decision of this kind, personal preference should play the biggest part
Most of the available sportsbooks in New York will offer a similar, competitive service.
The details where they differ are where you might be able to identify your favourite aspects of each one.
The team here at The Jump Hub are lucky to have experienced contacts that have used all of the available ones and given us their opinions on each.
We recommend Australian sportsbook PlayUp for all your NBA Betting. They have great offers and promotions, keen NBA odds, and a huge array of other sports to have a bet on. Read our full review of PlayUp.
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Here is what they said:
NEW YORK SPORTSBOOK APPS THAT ARE AVAILABLE NOW:
Here is a closer look at the seven NY sportsbook apps that are available in the state right now, as well as the other two that are coming soon.
CAESARS
Caesars Sportsbook has been offering live online betting in New York since January 2022.
Any punters who made the trip to some of the upstate casinos to lay bets in the past will likely be familiar with the name.
The app offers odds boosts and good market coverage.
There is a nice rewards program that offers 1 x free bet per month and an extra free bet in your birthday month.
Other bonuses and promotions are available on a constantly changing basis
They are often among the best offers around.
A solid, dependable sportsbook that is also among the better options for competitive odds.
DRAFTKINGS
Our reviewers were split on the style of DraftKings’ betting app. Due to the way it presents itself to the user, no two punters will ever have the same experience.
The app uses a kind of rotating display.
It presents you with a series of betting options based on your previous activities. It uses an algorithm to select them based on what it deems to be the most relevant to you.
Half of our reviewers appreciated this and said that it actually encouraged them to place bets they might not otherwise have done.
The other half felt that the reminded them they were being constantly monitored.
They didn’t like that
All agreed that the app is rapid and very easy to navigate.
They also liked the fact that the app remains the same if you change state when travelling and you don’t need to download a separate one.
FANDUEL
FanDuel Sportsbook NY is one of the top sportsbooks in the whole of the United States. It was a big favourite among the group we talked to.
The app excels at intuitive navigation
It is also excellent for straightforward, frequent promotions. They help to make it more accessible and convenient than most of the others here.
The site also offers a live feed of most games you can bet on to give you the option to follow the action live and keep an eye on your wagers.
BETMGM
The BetMGM app offers is on a different level altogether when it comes to flexibility of betting.
It is common to find cash out options on modern sites these days. The operators offer you a price to take before the action is finished to tempt you one way or the other.
If you are winning then the offer will be high. If you’re losing the it will be low but gives you a chance to prevent a total loss.
This is a much-appreciated perk
It has saved many members of the team here from getting cleaned out by one or two bad decisions. It has also led to some of them cashing out too soon and losing the full potential of their bets…
…BUT THAT’S ANOTHER STORY
BetMGM have taken the concept and turned it into a great tool. Their ‘Edit my bet’ feature allows you to add extra legs to a live parlay or take some out if you wish.
You can swap choices with others that seem more appealing and even increase the amount of your bet if you are feeling confident.
To be able to do all this once the ticket has been created and the games are underway is pretty amazing.
In fact, it’s nothing short of revolutionary
The more experienced among our reviewers were very enamoured with it to say the least.
POINTSBET
PointsBet have a good reputation for being customer friendly.
There have been many occasions where PointsBet have paid refunds in games where exceptional results come about due to some bad luck or unexpected injury.
This curries a lot of favour with bettors and ensures solid brand loyalty
Another feature our panel liked about PointsBet was their signature bet. The “Points Bet” is a traditional point spread but there’s a twist.
The distance between the sportsbook’s estimate of the score and the final result determines the amount you are paid out.
Each point that they differ amounts to an increased multiple. This means that the potential payouts are much bigger than with a standard point spread.
Losses can be bigger too, but that’s the game
They are unique to PointsBet and were popular with 75% of our panel.
BETRIVERS
BetRivers is the sportsbook app for the Rivers brand of casinos. The app offers more depth when it comes to parlay options than the others on this list.
There are ways to customise parlays using legs from the same game and there is even a jackpot version.
If you’re prepared to take the random offerings that the app gives you, then a life-changing amount becomes the potential outcome.
The odds of that happening sky-rocket accordingly…
BetRivers maintains a decent rewards scheme and is otherwise decent but only really shines if you love parlays (we don’t, and neither did our reviewers)
WYNNBET
WynnBet sportsbook app that represents Wynn and Encore casinos. The app is relatively new compared to the others. It is simple in terms of navigation and getting used to the way it works is speedy and intuitive.
The rewards program converts points into free bets in a simplistic, effective way. Overall a decent experience.
NOT YET OPERATIONAL:
BALLYBET
BallyBet has a user-friendly app that uses common sense design to make placing bets extremely straightforward no matter your level of experience.
The unique element of BallyBet is that you can talk to friends via a feed within the app itself. It compares your stats and allows you to compete against each other in mini-leagues.
This gives it a feeling of a fantasy sports situation and was welcomed by most of our panel.
You can see the bets your friends are making
You can even copy them with one click if you wish!
The Jump Hub is not only about the NBA. Here, we review some of The Best NCAA Basketball Teams.
RESORTS WORLD
Resorts World Sportsbook is rather an unknown entity. The company already had an app in Nevada before being thrown into the colossal new market of the Empire State.
Our reviewers told us that the app is fast and reasonably easy to navigate.
They liked the alphabetised list of events on each page and felt it was decent enough overall.
Conclusions:
BEST SPORTSBOOK FOR COMPETITIVE ODDS:
Of the 9 online sportsbooks available, PointsBet and Caesars generally offer the best odds. It is very important to check all of your options and compare lines as a matter of routine. These two sportsbooks were consistently more appealing in terms of sports betting odds that they offered.
BEST SPORTSBOOKS FOR USER-FRIENDLINESS:
DraftKings and FanDuel are both remarkably intuitive and easy to use even for beginners. Feature-wise they both perform well and are not prone to glitches or crashing issues. According to an independent report in 2021, these sites were both in the top 5 for appearance, quality of the user experience and app-features.
BEST SPORTSBOOKS FOR PROMOTIONAL OFFERS:
Caesars and BetMGM. Promotional opportunities are obviously very forthcoming common when opening an acccount. Not all sportsbooks work particularly hard to keep their players once they have enticed them in. Caesars and BetMGM are exceptions that go the extra distance and treat their clients well, keeping the offers coming.
BEST VARIETY OF BETTING OPTIONS:
BetMGM and BetRivers. Readers who have stuck with us thus far will not be surprised to see these two sportsbooks top the list for the widest variety of betting options. They have the largest menus of sports available and a huge number of different bet types.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Those of us who like to indulge in sports wagering but don’t always have time for in-person sports betting were thrilled with the turn of events in New York.
Mobile and online betting has already revolutionized the industry in the Empire State.
Legions of New York sports fans are now able to throw a few of their hard-earned dollars at their favourite teams and spice things up a little.
They no longer have to travel for hours in a car to do so!
As far as we’re concerned that’s progress and we welcome it wholeheartedly.
