New York legislators are working hard on making mobile betting up and running in the state right in time for the Super Bowl LVI. The next step on that road is giving the operating licenses to sportsbook operators, which is something that’s expected to happen next week.
Initially, the state wanted to allow only a couple of operators to go live, but recent reports suggest there’s going to be more. A few days ago, New York Post reported that the state officials are planning to name nine sportsbook operators by the end of the next week.
The state had a unique licensing process that allowed providers to team up and submit collective bids, which the media dubbed the super bids.
New York’s Super Bids
The first super bid to be announced was the one including BetMGM, Bally Bet, DraftKings, and FanDuel. It was quickly followed by a bid made jointly by six gaming companies – Kambi, Caesars, Empire resorts, PointsBet, Rush Street, and Wynn.
The third group of gambling businesses to make a super bid in New York is led by Barstool Sports and Penn National, which owns 36% of Barstool shares. Their effort is helped by sports merch company Fanatics.
On top of that, there are also some operators that have entered the NY license race on their own. Some of those include FOX Bet, theScore, and bet365.
Harsh Requirements for NY Operators
The operators who get the green light from New York State will pay a $25 million licensing fee. Furthermore, they will be taxed 51% on their profits. The tax rate is tied with the one set up by New Hampshire as the highest rate in the United States.
Nevertheless, the unfavorable conditions haven’t deterred sportsbook operators from the NY betting market. The probable reason is that they believe the market has plenty of potential, which is no surprise as New York is the fourth-most populated state in the US, with 19,299,981 people calling it home.
The sportsbooks that get the NY license will have a chance to cash in within only a couple of months. The plan is that they go live before the 2022 Super Bowl, which is on the program in early February.
Until that happens, New Yorkers can only bet legally at four land-based casinos in Upstate New York, all of which are at least one-hour drive away from Big Apple.
