Since New Jersey won its battle against the PASPA at Supreme Court in 2018, every state in the US has the right to decide on the legality of sports betting on its own. Fast-forward to 2022, and almost half the states have sportsbooks within their borders. Online sports betting became legal finally this year.
| Betting Site | Bonus | |
|---|---|---|
 | Deposit $250, Get $250 in Free Bets Must be 21+. Playable in NY. T&Cs apply. Betrivers Review. | Claim offer |
 | Risk-free bet up to $1000 Must be 21+. Playable in NY. T&Cs apply. BetMGM Review. | Claim offer |
 | Freebets up to $1500 Must be 21+. Playable in NY. T&Cs apply. Caesars Review. | Claim offer |
Betting Apps and Sites Which Launched in NY
New York legislators wallowed up to 14 sportsbook websites/apps. The brands that launched first are those that already have partnerships with land-based casinos in New York.
Those brands are, namely:
- BetRivers (partnership with Rivers Casino Schenectady)
- BetMGM (partnership with Yonkers Raceway)
- Bet365 (partnership with Resorts World Catskills)
- FanDuel (partnership with Tioga Downs in Nichols)
- DraftKings (partnership with Del Lago Resort in Waterloo)
- William Hill (partnership with Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona)
- Barstool (partnership with Rivers Casino Schenectady)
In addition to the sportsbook operators that already have a presence in New York, it’s certain that other gaming giants want to get involved as well. Companies like FOX Bet, Unibet, and WynnBet would hate to miss such an opportunity.
How and Where to Bet on Sports in New York State?
On July 16, 2019, the chairman of NY Racing and Wagering Committee J. Gary Pretlow became the first person to place a sports wager in the state.
He did that at Rivers Casino, which is one of only four commercial casinos within the state borders that run sportsbook operations. In addition, there are also a couple of tribal casinos with sportsbooks on their premises. You can check out all of them on the map below!
As you can see, New Yorkers don’t have too many options before them when sports betting is concerned. The land-based sportsbooks don’t seem capable of catering to a market of 20 million people, which is the population of New York State.
That’s another reason why New York legislators are seriously thinking about making mobile betting legal in the near future.
Will Online Casinos Become Available Too?
History taught us that when it comes to online gambling in the US, things usually don’t go as smoothly as with sports betting. The fact is that in 2021, there were only five states with online casinos – New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan.
However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is not the same as it used to be. States need money, and online casinos can bring it to them. So, will New York become the sixth state to legalize online casino gambling?
Probably not, as many other states are already working on the legislation. Still, this doesn’t mean NY lawmakers are big opponents of online gambling. It’s very likely that they will make this gaming form legal in the upcoming years.
The view on gambling has changed quite a lot in the Empire State over the years. Back in the 1840s, New York had one of the harshest gambling laws in the country, which kept the state gambling-free for more than 150 years.
Then, in 1988, the United States Congress enacted the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, practically allowing tribal casinos to launch even in the states where gambling is not legal. As a result, New York got its first casinos in the early 1990s.
The next big milestone in the history of NY casinos happened in 2013 when the state legislators decided to embrace commercial casinos. From there, the next obvious step is to make online casinos legal. The only question is when?