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.
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;
| Auto Racing | UFC | Hockey |
| Baseball | Football | Rugby |
| Basketball | Golf | Soccer |
| Boxing | MMA | Tennis |
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;
| NY Casino | Location | Sportsbook Partner | Date of Official Launch |
| Rivers Casino & Resort | Schenectady | Rush Street Gaming / Betrivers | July 2019 |
| Tioga Downs | Nicholas | FanDuel | July 2019 |
| Turning Stone Resort Casino | Verona | Caesar’s Entertainment / Caesars | August 2019 |
| Point Place Casino | Bridgeport | Caesar’s Entertainment / William Hill | August 2019 |
| Yellow Brick Road Casino | Chittenango | Caesar’s Entertainment / William Hill | September 2019 |
| Del Lago Resort Casino | Waterloo | DraftKings | August 2019 |
| Resorts World Catskills | Monticello | Bet365 | September 2019 |
| Akwesasne Mohawk Casino | Hogansburg | The Stars Group | Fall 2019 |
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!
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.
You can bet place off-track horse racing bets, online fantasy sports, skill games, and a limited selection of lotteries.
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.
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.