New York Mobile Sports Betting Launches, NFL Bettors Happy

• NY Gaming Commission Gave Mobile Sports Betting Green Light, Market Launched Sat
• Legal Mobile Sports Gambling in NY in Time for NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl
• NY Bettors Were Going to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or New England to Wager

NY Gaming Commission Gave Mobile Sports Betting Green Light, Market Launched Saturday

Looks like New York State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Jr.’s prediction last week regarding mobile sports betting in his state being “imminent” was spot on as the Gaming Commission announced soon after that online sports gambling could launch as soon as Saturday.

Addabbo, who chairs the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, must have had the inside scoop before he told ESPN last week that New Yorkers were ready and waiting for the ability to bet sports online, it just took lawmakers and industry leaders to make it happen.

Which it did…starting on January 8, four licensed mobile sportsbook operators – Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive – have been accepting sports bets since 9 a.m. Saturday morning, a new market that should grow exponentially over time.

Jason Robins, DraftKings CEO, co-founder, and chairman of the board, understands what a huge deal this launch is for his company, the state of New York, and its sports gamblers, saying:

We are excited to finally be able to offer millions of passionate New York sports fans the top-rated DraftKings mobile and online Sportsbook.

This move was well planned, giving NY bettors a chance to place NFL wagers before the season ends in February.

Legal Mobile Sports Gambling in NY in Time for NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl

Though both of New York’s NFL franchises (Jets and Giants) have been eliminated from the playoffs, the state holds plenty of football fans who can’t wait to place online wagers on the league’s upcoming playoff matchups with the Wildcard Round happening this weekend.

Up until Saturday, New Yorkers could bet on sports in person, meaning they had to physically get themselves to one of the upstate casinos, not an easy feat for many gamblers who live in the southern parts of the state with the Super Bowl happening in snowy February.

One sports punter, 28-year-old Matt Lane of the Lower East Side, was happy about the mobile sports betting launch, telling reporters not only was it more convenient, but that it could improve his relationship, as well:

Finally I can stop biking over the [George Washington Bridge] on Sundays and take a bet over the phone. I know this will make my girlfriend happy, especially when I win.

Before this online sports betting launch, Lane, like many other New York gamblers, went elsewhere to place their bets.

NY Bettors Were Going to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or New England to Wager

New York lawmakers and industry leaders have understood for some time that resident gamblers were taking their business elsewhere, a reality that has brought legal markets to over half the states in the US and a fact that Sen. Addabbo says helped him back the same for NY:

New York bettors were going to New Jersey, to Pennsylvania or New England. So, we’re asking them to switch from what they were doing, try the New York product and then stay with us.

With the 51% tax rate that New York state is charging sportsbooks (that’s the highest in the country), industry analysts expect annual gross revenues to hit the billion-dollar mark by 2025, which would make it the largest sports gambling market in the US.