What's the Latest on Online Betting in New York?

New York has been waiting to see its online sports betting scene go live since November and it’s fair to say that the Empire State wanted to see things happen in 2021, but just missed out. We are getting tantalizingly close to seeing this become a reality, however, and it seems we will witness New York online sports betting in just a matter of weeks.

What’s the Hold up?

It’s important to remember that this bill only passed in November of last year and even though there was a slight delay, it was always going to take a while for it to happen. Simply put, it takes a lot of technological power and time to integrate everything, which naturally forces a lot of time into getting things done and ready.

Then you take into account the fact that there are nine sportsbooks all going live in New York at the same time, and it only adds to the overall trickiness of getting things up by a certain deadline. With this in mind, however, the final pieces are being put together and we are weeks off being ready to place the first online sports bet in the Empire State’s history.

According to the state’s rules and requirements for the nine sportsbooks set to go live, including DraftKings New York sportsbook, each of the sportsbooks’ servers must be housed in one of New York’s existing casinos, making it more complex for those making the move into New York’s online betting space and only further prolonging an already long and complicated process.

When Will Online Betting Go Live in the State?

Right now, as we approach the NFL Playoffs, it’s tough to give a specific date on just when New York betting will go live. It depends if everything is in place with the servers and the sportsbooks themselves and ultimately, if the sportsbooks comply with the legislation rules.

However, it’s fair to predict that we will see online betting be available to those inside the state by the end of January, as was predicted back in December. The hopes of going live before the Super Bowl in February remains the objective, but the desire to place the first bet online in the state before the Playoffs in mid-January is a stretch at this stage. Players will have to wait that bit longer if they want to bet on the NFL.

Once the land-based casinos with the licenses are ready to go, we then await a negotiation between the state and the sportsbooks for when the first bet happens.

What This Means for the State and US Betting

While in-person betting has been available in New York since 2019, the state’s move to online betting has been one of the most eagerly anticipated in America’s gambling history, with the population and tourism industry in New York multiple times bigger than that of neighbors New Jersey.

Also, the overall sports sector is significantly bigger in the Empire State too, with sports teams like the New York Knicks, Giants, Jets, Yankees, and the MLS teams all responsible for helping build one of America’s biggest sporting states.