Feb 01, 2021 New York now has legal sports betting, although it’s not online yet. Just under a dozen upstate casinos can operate brick-and-mortar sportsbooks at the moment. Daily fantasy sports and horse racing are also legal — and regulated — in New York. Read on for more information about all of the sports gaming options in the state.

Every major city in New York has a sportsbook operation for you to bet on the NFL. You will find betting lines throughout the season, postseason, and Super Bowl. Betting on the NFL in New York is readily available at retail sportsbooks across the Empire State. Rivers Sportsbook at Rivers Casino Schenectady. New York Online Sports Betting: Events and Betting Markets. If and when New York online sports betting goes legal, betting will be available on everything from the Super Bowl to international sports. Most of the top sports betting sites offer bets on MMA, soccer, football, and more.

On Thursday, New York lawmakers proposed new online sports betting legislation for their colleagues to consider in 2021.

Jointly filed bills by Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow follow earlier iterations of similar legislation. This time, however, the proposals identify two online skins per licensee rather than just one.

With four commercial casinos and three casino-operating tribes in the state, that means as many as 14 online sportsbooks could operate in New York should their bills become law.

However, such a suggestion sharply contrasts with the type of online sports betting that Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggested he would support earlier this week.

Details of latest New York sports betting legislation

Aside from the new two-skins-per-licensee item, the bills — S 1183 and A 1257 — resemble much of what Addabbo and Pretlow put forth before in earlier sessions.

• An up-front, one-time $12 million fee mobile sportsbook operators must pay within 30 days of license issuance
• A 12% tax on sports wagering gross revenue
• Use of official league data required for in-play betting, including a 0.2% royalty fee to sports leagues
• Professional sports stadiums and off-track betting sites with at least 15,000 seats can partner with casinos to host betting kiosks

The legislation arrives just two days after Gov. Cuomo announced he was in favor of legalizing online sports betting in the state, a reversal from his earlier stance.

However, Addabbo and Pretlow’s vision for online sports betting likely does not satisfy what Cuomo has in mind.

Cuomo envisions single operator, not several

On Tuesday, Cuomo announced he would recommend legalizing online wagering in his upcoming budget proposal.

The governor had previously opposed the idea entirely. Arguing that legalizing sports betting in New York would require a constitutional amendment, Cuomo made clear his intention to veto any bills seeking to legalize it otherwise.

However, the significant economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the attractiveness of online sports betting as a possible revenue source. Indeed, speculation along those lines arose last summer amid the state’s significant budgetary shortfall.

Unlike Addabbo and Pretlow, Cuomo favors a model by which the New York State Gaming Commission would select a single operator to provide online sports betting in the state. In other words, Cuomo’s proposal opposes allowing the casinos individually to obtain licenses to offer online sports betting.

In a Wednesday press conference, Cuomo further clarified his position.

“Many states have done sports betting but they basically allow casinos to run their own gambling operations. That makes a lot of money for casinos but it makes minimal money for the state.”

Such a centralized system would mimic that of the state lottery, Cuomo said, “where the state gets all the revenues.”

Lawmakers: Casinos need mobile sports betting to survive

Addabbo and Pretlow were not encouraged by Cuomo’s proposal. In particular, they worry that New York casinos may not be able to sustain themselves following the difficulties of the past year.

According to Addabbo, “if we do mobile sports betting and don’t include them, they’re done.”

A summary of the jointly-filed legislation from Addabbo and Pretlow indicates the state could realize approximately $79 million in annual revenue according to their model.

Cuomo’s budget director, Robert Mujica, has suggested standard online sports betting models would provide around $50 million per year for the state.

Meanwhile, Mujica also opined that a single-operator system such as Cuomo recommends could bring as much as $500 million per year. On the surface that would seem an optimistic projection, especially to start.

In any case, one week into 2021, online sports betting is firmly on the table in New York. It remains to be seen if competing visions for it can be reconciled enough for it to come to fruition.

In the wake of the scrapping of the PASPA in 2018, New York was finally free to establish its own regulations to that legalize sports betting and even online casino gaming. This was a great relief to the Yankees especially since New York City itself is home to 2 MLB teams, 2 NFL teams, 2 NHL teams, and 2 NBA teams. Elsewhere in the state, the city of Buffalo has an NHL team and an NFL team as well. In total, the Empires state is proud to have at least 24 different sports clubs and teams.

Finally, in June 2019, the state assembly passed the sports betting law, nearly six years after land-based casino gaming was legalized. The New York State Gaming Commission then approved the enacted SB 17 regulation. This law had been introduced in the assembly back in 2018 by the new chair of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee; Sen. Joseph Addabbo. This bill borrowed heavily from retired Senator John Bonacic’s proposed bill, S7900 on the same, but had failed to be passed into law. Here’s a quick teardown of the sports and mobile betting law;

• There’s a 0.2% ‘royalty fee’ payable to the state’s professional state leagues
• An 8.5% tax on the gross revenue received from sports betting activities
• Bettors will have to be physically present within a licensed casino in the state lines if they are to place any wagers
• Mobile sports betting is also allowed, but players are required to create their mobile gaming accounts in person
• The bodies governing sports in the state are required to user ‘Official League Data’ for specific bets on sporting events
• Only state-licensed casinos are allowed to operate sportsbooks
• Any outside vendor of sports and mobile betting services will have to strike a partnership deal with local casinos if they want to offer their gambling services to locals
• Betting on local college or university sports, teams and/or clubs is prohibited

As you can see, while sports and mobile betting is legal, New Yorkers are only allowed to back their favorite team only if they are physically present in a licensed gaming house. This means that online betting on sports is technically legal, at least via mobile devices but only within casinos. This is a good sign, and it looks like soon enough, there will be fully-fledged online betting on casino games as well. For now, however, as Yankees enjoy betting on their favorite sports teams, we’ll all be waiting patiently for assemblypersons to further expand the gambling laws to accommodate online casino games as well.

Sports Betting New York Legal

Which Sports Can You Bet on in New York?

After the law to allow sports and mobile betting was passed, the Gaming Commission of the Empire State released a complete list of wagers that are acceptable within the state. Thankfully, these wagers go far beyond the standard win or lose. You can as well place bets on a range of other potentially lucrative predictions which include over/under on the points and futures as well as exotics on specific players and the points they’ll score or moves they’ll make in the match.

All in all, as we speak, the Gaming Commission has accepted placing wagers on 11 different sports. Moreover, this menu comes with a comprehensive set of guidelines on the wagers that are acceptable per game. The said sports you can bet on in the designated locations and online via mobile devices are;

In case you were wondering, the licensed casinos in the state are allowed to accept wagers on whichever sports they like and the types of wagers they want to accept. They do not have to pick all options outlined by the state’s Gaming Commission.

Where Can You Place Sportsbook Bets in New York?

Based on the provisions of the law, you’ll notice that each licensed casino in the Empire State has partnered or is setting up shop with an already established American and global sportsbook brands. It’s an efficient way of rolling out the sportsbook services, and they come complete with mobile betting infrastructure. That way, locals weren’t kept waiting for long right after the bill was passed into law. So, if you are a Yankee looking for a sportsbook to bet on sports without the fear of brushing shoulders with the law, here’s a tabulated summary of your options;

Additionally, three more Seneca Indian Nation tribal casinos are exploring their options to set up sportsbooks in Salamanca, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo. This expansion will surely be well received especially because the sportsbooks will be brought closer to the people.

Legal Online Betting in New York

Contrary to what most people assume, there are a couple of online gambling games that are completely legal in the Empire State. As we’ve already established in the previous section, fantasy sports and horse racing have always been exempted by even the stringiest anti-gambling laws of the late 20th and the now 21st century. Unless your individual state has outlawed fantasy sportsbook and horse racing platforms, you won’t be breaking any laws.

Thankfully, the New York legislature has not banned fantasy sportsbook platforms or horse racing and greyhound racing sites. Additionally, online skill games are also categorically accepted by the law at a national level, just like fantasy sports and horse racing. That’s because these games are considered contests of skills by the federal law, meaning they are technically not all about chance. Here’s a quick look at where you can bet online on these games in New York;

Horse & Greyhound Racing

We all know the rich history of New York and horse racing. Belmont Stakes anyone? With 11 different horse and greyhound racing facilities in the state, there’s no doubt that this is a booming business. By 1970, off-track betting on runners was allowed by the law and owing to the fast-changing technology, horse and greyhound racing enthusiasts can easily stream the evens from anywhere in the state. Some of the most reliable websites where you can gamble online on the runners include;

• TVG
• TwinSpires
• BetAmerica

On online horse racing platforms, you can place bets on range of different fixed and pari-mutuel odds set on hundreds of local and international horse races.

Fantasy Sports

Thanks to a law that was enacted back in August 2016 to allow fantasy sportsbook platforms, Yankees can safely and legitimately bet online on fantasy sports. While the majority of New Yorkers have heard of this term with millions betting on it, lots of people don’t have any idea what its all about because it’s a ‘sport’ that emerged recently.

In a nutshell, fantasy sports is about players assembling imaginary or virtual teams via the internet, based on real-life players of professional sports teams. So, if you are an NFL buff, for instance, you could draft a team with a wide receiver from the Buffalo Bills, a running back from NY Jets and a quarterback from the Giants. All other players within your league will have the same opportunity, and your teams will compete against each other. Now, points are then assigned to actions that the said players will perform on that day. For instance, for every catch of the wide receiver makes in real life, you’ll get a point for your picked team. At the end of the day, all points are totaled based on your selection, and the winner is determined by the highest score.

If this is something that will tickle your fancy, some of the most prominent fantasy sportsbook websites where you can line up your team are DraftKings and FanDuel.

Skill Games

Skill games are games as the name suggests, are games based on skill or your knowledge of the game. Depending on the skill you feel strongest at, you can pick a wide range of options to play online. Some of the most popular include;

• Arcade Games: Bejeweled, Tetris
• Gameshows: Wheel of Fortune
• Card Games: Solitaire, Spades
• Word Games: Scrabble, Word Mojo
• Strategy Games: Mahjongg, Cubis

Online Lottery

As one of the first states to have a state-managed lottery, it’s no surprise that the state allows you to manage your lotto tickets online, as long as you are within state lines. However, you should note that the state has only one licensed and mandated website. But then again, you can’t purchase single lotto tickets on this website as you would expect for an online gambling site. Instead you can only renew or buy subscriptions of the most massive state lottery games such as Mega Millions, Cash 4 Life and New York Lotto. Through this website, you are given room to manage up to ten different subscriptions, allow the computer to pick random figures for you, or do it yourself!

New York New York Sportsbook

As you can see, you have online gambling options in New York with fantasy sports, online horse and greyhound racing and seven skill games on reliable platforms. When it comes to online casino games things are still a bit murky but for online poker on the other hand, there’s a good chance that players could be betting online by 2020.

New York Online Gambling FAQ

Here are some of the frequently asked questions concerning gambling in the state of New York:

The law stipulates that New Yorkers must be at least 18 years old if they are to participate in any gambling activity that’s legal within the state lines. That includes betting on horses, casino games, and even playing the lottery. However, if you go playing in a facility where alcohol is being served, then you must be over 21 years old!

Currently the intrastate online casino system in New Jersey is already operational. Being that the gambling laws in the Empire State have previously borrowed from the framework in New Jersey, we expect them to follow suit with this as well. Even though up to this point in time New York lawmakers have not passed any online casino laws, there is a high possibility this will change soon as the state looks for means to increase state revenue.

Online Sportsbook New York

You can bet place off-track horse racing bets, online fantasy sports, skill games, and a limited selection of lotteries.

Sportsbook In New York

Well, while no one’s ever been arrested or prosecuted from playing online casino or online poker in NY in offshore sites it’s often not safe. That’s because there are plenty of unregulated and fraudulent websites on the internet and in case you don’t receive your payout, there’s nothing you can do about it because you can’t report or sue the website in question.

Draftkings Sportsbook New York

Sportsbook New York State

In commercial and tribal casinos within the state lines, you can take part in legal gambling in NY on games such as video poker, slot machine games, electronic table games as well as table and card games such as live poker, craps, blackjack, baccarat, and roulette.