As New York sports betting prepares for mobile to debut, one important and official step happened on Wednesday.
The state’s Division of Administrative Rules (DAR) produces a weekly state register that provides information on rule-making activities of state agencies.
No approved mobile sports wagering operator/provider can launch within the state until the regulations that were approved back on Nov. 8 are printed in the state register.
That hurdle has been cleared and those regulations have been printed into the state register’s editions of Wednesday, Nov. 24.
Those regulations can be viewed here, starting on page 21 of the 182-page document.
Process of Getting Servers in Casinos Is Ongoing
Mobile sports betting was placed on the final state budget back on April 7. The process of getting servers established at one of the four retail up-state casinos is currently under way. There is no date or time determined for a potential launch.
Here are the Empire State’s providers and operators: DraftKings NY, BetMGM NY, Bally Bet, FanDuel NY, Rush Street Interactive (parent company of BetRivers), Caesars, WynnBET NY, Resorts World and PointsBet.
And the four commercial upstate casinos are Rivers Casino in Schenectady, Del Lago Casino in Waterloo, Resorts World Catskills in Monticello and Tioga Downs Casino in Nichols.
A legislator who has been key to getting mobile sports betting, state senator Joseph Addabbo Jr., chairman of the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, spoke this week about the launch.
“I would like to see everyone launch and start at once, which gives everyone an even playing field and provides more options at once for the consumer,” said Addabbo, who will make that recommendation to the New York State Gaming Commission. “Everyone would benefit from that happening. I hope we can get this done in December, that would be wonderful, but I think a Jan. 1 launch is still viable.”
“I give credit to the New York State Gaming Commission for their work in advancing the state’s mobile sports betting process ahead of schedule, including the completion and posting of the rules," Addabbo added. "As we complete each important step towards offering our residents a premier mobile sports betting product in New York, we must focus on getting the servers negotiated, so that they're up and running at the approved casinos in order to take the first New York mobile sports bets for some time in January. I look forward to getting this anticipated operation off the ground and bringing New York successfully into the mobile sports betting arena.”
New York State Betting Deals with High Tax Rate
The end result would be more revenue and more convenient options for New York bettors. There is a fear, of course, that the state’s onerous 51% tax will hinder potential revenue. With mobile New York sports betting apps not available before, many New York bettors would go across state lines to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and even Connecticut to place bets. New York bettors played a prominent role in New Jersey’s record-shattering revenue figures in October.
Addabbo remains undaunted by that prospect. He recently did a Q and A with NewYorkBets.com.
“With mobile sports betting, New York should witness an increase in educational funding, revenue and jobs, in addition to increased funding for addiction programs and youth sports,” Addabbo said. “Our revenue has the potential of surpassing that of New Jersey.”
Other states with legalized sports betting have had test periods from 48 hours to a week under certain times. With New York being the fourth most populated state in the U.S., the test period could be even longer.
Advocates hope for the state to launch mobile sports betting in early 2022 or even possibly next month, which would be before the NFL Playoffs begin and just in time for the Super Bowl on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
