Four New York Online Sportsbooks Start Taking Bets On Saturday, Jan. 8
The traffic across the George Washington Bridge might be about to take a hit. The commencement of legal New York online betting on sporting events is now a historical event, as three of the state’s nine licensed operators started accepting wagers this morning.
Another plans to do so tomorrow but information about when the other five might go live remains scarce. Regardless, Jan. 8 marks the beginning of a new era of gambling in New York as it brought mobile wagering to the most populous city in the United States of America.
New York online sports betting launch now set
On Thursday, the NY State Gaming Commission issued a go-live authorization to four online sportsbooks. The highly anticipated moment was 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8. The four operators were:
All four apps followed regulators’ lead and went live at their first opportunity.
NY Sen. Joseph Addabbo had wanted all nine operators to launch simultaneously. However, the Commission never adopted that stance, and the statute does not require it. With this launch now in the rearview mirror, the state has beat its goal of having sportsbooks live in time for Super Bowl LVI.
What about the other five New York sportsbooks?
If you’ve been chomping at the bit to try Bally Bet or PointsBet in NY, your wait will continue. The Commission didn’t offer any information on when it might authorize any of the other five brands. It’s still possible that they could go live in time for the NFL’s championship game.
It’s unclear what they have yet to accomplish in order to satisfy the Commission. That may differ from one operator to the next as well. Earlier this month, NY Assemblyman Gary Pretlow said that server deals had been negotiated but did not specify if that applied to all nine licensees.
The upside to this partial launch means that these four NY sportsbooks will not only be able to capture handle from Super Bowl LVI but the entirety of the NFL playoffs and Week 18 of the regular season. That could mean a difference of millions of dollars in revenue for them and the state compared to if they had missed the NFL’s postseason structure.
It also means that New Yorkers won’t have to travel to Connecticut, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania to bet on sports on their phones anymore legally. That applies to taking advantage of some great promos from the three live options as well.
Launch promos at all three NY sports betting apps
Before getting to the goods, it’s necessary to take care of the legal stuff. In NY, you must be at least 21 years of age to bet on sporting events. Like in all other states with legal online gambling, you must also be somewhere within the borders of NY when you place your bets as well.
If you take part in the state’s gambling self-exclusion program, steer clear here. Finally, these offers are just for bettors new to each sportsbook. So if you have already bet with Caesars, DraftKings, or FanDuel somewhere else, you’re ineligible for these deals.
If that’s you, there’s an upside to that situation, though. You don’t have to re-register for a new account in NY. Simply log into the app with your existing credentials and let the app verify your account for use in NY. Then you can pick right back up where you left off.
Now let’s get into the goods for the newbies:
- BetRivers – Get a 100% match of your first deposit up to $250
- Caesars – Get a $300 free bet upon signup and a 100% match of your first deposit as another free bet up to $3,000
- DraftKings – Receive a $50 free bet after registration plus a 20% bonus on your first deposit up to $1,000
- FanDuel – Bet $5, Win $150 in cash or a risk-free first bet of up to $1,000
All you have to do to find out more about each offer is follow our links above. With those offers, you might be able to mark this historic occasion with some personal history of your own best sports betting weekend ever.