New Yorkers can start placing bets this weekend, as the New York State Gaming Commission announced Thursday, Jan. 6, that four licensed mobile sports wagering operators – Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive – have satisfied all statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to accept and process mobile sports wagering activity and have been approved to begin operations at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8.
“Today’s announcement by the New York State Gaming Commission that four of the nine licensed Mobile Sports Wagering Operations have been approved to begin operations starting on Saturday is great news for New York in terms of revenue, new funding for education, addiction programs and youth sports, as well as new jobs,” state Senator Joseph Addabbo said. “I want to thank the Gaming Commission for their efficiency in ensuring that these operators met all of the requirements to bring their mobile sports betting product to the people of New York ahead of the NFL playoffs.”
As the chairman of the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, Addabbo has advocated for mobile sports wagering for nearly three years after seeing tens of millions of dollars head out of state to New Jersey and illegal sports betting markets.
“I look forward to the other five operators satisfying the statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to launch in the near future and working with the Hochul Administration and Gaming commission,” Addabbo said.
New York becomes one of 18 states where it is legal to place sports bets remotely through online sportsbooks. The team at PlayNY.com projects that despite its unique structure among U.S. legal markets with a national-high 51% tax rate, New York will grow into one of the largest markets in the country.
“New York will be a fascinating test case for just how much states can tax sports betting without damaging the future of the industry,” PlayUSA.com Network Lead Analyst Dustin Gouker said. “Launching with four of the best-known sportsbook brands in the U.S. shows that operators have not been dissuaded so far. And there is no doubt New Yorkers will respond in huge numbers, so long as operators can offer competitive products that sufficiently desensitize crossing state lines to place a bet.’
