Rejoice, weary George Washington Bridge travelers: mobile NY sports betting apps are live today.
The New York State Gaming Commission approved four mobile NY sportsbooks to launch at 9 a.m. Saturday:
Note that the operators do not have to be up and running by 9 am, although most likely will be. That is just the first moment when state regulators cleared them for launch.
In particular, BetRivers will not be fully operational Saturday morning. The Rush Street Interactive-produced app remains pending approval by Apple and Google Play, according to a spokesperson. Bettors will need to navigate to the BetRivers website to wager for the next few days.
The launch means online NFL betting will be legal for the entirety of the playoffs and for the final week of the regular season as well. Now is the time to celebrate with your favorite Sbarro slice in one hand and your phone in the other. (OK, maybe not Sbarro.)
What mobile NY sports betting apps will launch?
There are still five operators that are waiting on approval to launch:
- Bally Bet
- BetMGM
- PointsBet
- Resorts World (on the PointsBet platform)
- WynnBET
Those approvals will be given on a rolling basis, according to the state’s regulators:
“The remaining five conditionally licensed Mobile Sports Wagering Operators continue to work towards satisfying statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to launch and will be approved on a rolling basis when requirements are met.”
That means it is up to those operators to be live in time for Super Bowl betting by Feb. 13.
What sports can you bet on in New York?
Those accustomed to betting in a nearby legal state should find the betting experience at online New York sportsbooks to be nearly identical.
That is doubly true for those used to betting with New Jersey sportsbooks: the same ban on in-state college betting applies, but obviously to different schools. That means you’ll have to travel out of state to bet on a SUNY team, but you can finally bet on Rutgers.
New Yorkers will also be prohibited from betting on college events that take place in the state, whether a New York-based college is involved or not.
Otherwise, standard betting options will be available at all operators:
- Futures
- In-game betting
- Moneyline
- Parlays
- Point spread
- Props
- Totals
What does mobile NY sports betting launch mean for New Jersey?
It is no secret that New York City residents travel to New Jersey to place legal sports bets. That steady flow of betting traffic could slow after mobile NY sportsbook apps launch today.
In past years, FanDuel revealed that as many as 25% of its NJ sports betting accounts were registered to addresses in New York. New Yorkers wagered an estimated $837 million in New Jersey in 2019, per research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming.
The sportsbooks launching today in New York all have a presence in New Jersey. It might take some time to see the mix of New York bettors coming home from New Jersey versus new acquired customers in the Empire State.
