New York Sports Betting
New York sports betting is live!
Up and running since January 2022, the NY online sports betting industry features eight online sportsbooks. The ninth and final licensee, Bally Bet NY expects to launch by the end of June.
New York betting apps — featuring Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetRivers, BetMGM, PointsBet, WynnBet and Resorts WorldBet — have combined for more than $6 billion in accepted bets to date, making NY online sports betting the No. 1 market in the country. Indeed, NY sportsbooks offer plenty of variety and the best bonuses, especially during baseball season.
While an epic way to debut, this is just the start for online legal sports betting in New York.
Top New York sports betting apps for 2022
Latest updates
May 20, 2022
It took just 4½ months, but New York has entered the top five in all-time legal online sports betting handle in the US.
With $286.2 million wagered during the week ending May 15, the Empire State reached $6.9 billion in online bets placed since launching in January. That’s enough to pass Indiana for the No. 5 spot all-time.
New York online sports betting exceeded $1 billion in each of its first four months since going live. So far in May, New Yorkers have wagered some $660 million, potentially lining up the industry for a fifth straight month.
That said, last week’s total stands as the lowest full week since NY online betting launched in January, and down almost $45 million from the previous week.
Recent NY sports betting news
Snapshot of New York sports betting
The journey to legal sports betting in New York actually began in 2013, when lawmakers approved regulated betting at the state’s commercial and tribal casinos. Here’s a quick look at some of the key elements of NY sports betting:
- Sports betting legalized: 2013
- Retail launch: July 2019
- Online launch: January 2022
- Availability: Online sportsbooks and retail sportsbooks at NY casinos
- Apps that have launched: Caesars, BetRivers, FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, PointsBet, WynnBet and Resorts WorldBet.
- Apps expected to launch in 2022: Bally Bet
- Legal betting age: 21+
Best New York sports betting sites
It became official Jan. 8, 2022: New York online sports betting is live. The first eight of nine NY online sportsbooks now accept legal bets, including BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, WynnBet and Resorts WorldBet. The remaining NY betting app could launch by the end of June. Here is everything you need to know about legal NY sports betting apps.
| NY Sportsbook | Best Sportsbook For | Bonus Offer |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings NY | Live betting | $1,050 |
| Caesars NY | Best bonus offer in New York | $1,100 |
| FanDuel NY | Same-game parlays | $1,000 |
| BetMGM NY | More control over wagers | $1,000 |
| PointsBet NY | PointsBetting | $2,000 |
| BetRivers NY | iRush Rewards program | $250 |
| WynnBet NY | Bet slip info breakdown | N/A |
| Resorts WorldBet NY | Live in-play betting | N/A |
1. DraftKings Sportsbook
- New York Bonus:$50 free bet + $1,000 bonus
- App Review: DraftKings New York
- Best Feature: Live betting
Featuring a sleek, user-friendly mobile app design, DraftKings New York offers a wide variety of betting options that have become popular across the country, including live betting, which allows users to wager on games as they occur. DraftKings does roll out occasional odds boosts and promotions, but some online sportsbooks offer more. DraftKings already accepts legal wagers in New York via its retail sportsbook at del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo.
2. Caesars Sportsbook
- New York Bonus: 100% up to $1,100 on deposit
- App Review: Caesars New York
- Best Feature: Best bonus offer in New York
Another sportsbook with casino ties, Caesars NY has improved its mobile sportsbook with all the bells and whistles desired by bettors. That includes more consistent bonuses, in-play betting and a wide selection of odds boosts. In addition to featuring former New York Giant QB Eli Manning as a brand ambassador, Caesars stands as an official sports betting partner of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden. Caesars also features retail sportsbooks at three tribal casinos: Point Place in Bridgeport, Turning Stone in Verona and Yellow Brick Road in Chittenango.
3. FanDuel Sportsbook
- New York Bonus: $1,000 risk-free bet
- App Review: FanDuel New York
- Best Feature: Same-game parlays
With a user-friendly experience, interface and ease of navigation (not to mention the plethora of betting bonuses and promotional offers), FanDuel Sportsbook has established itself as one of the go-to legal online sportsbooks in the country. In addition, FanDuel boasts the same-game parlay, which allows you to make multiple tied-together bets within the same event. Bettors in New York may know that FanDuel features a retail sportsbook at Tioga Downs in Nichols.
4. BetMGM Sportsbook 
- New York Bonus: $1,000 risk-free bet
- App Review: BetMGM New York
- Best Feature: More control over wagers
From its Nevada roots, BetMGM offers users the utmost control over which betting markets and sports on which they wish to wager. You can add and delete bets as needed and even change the amount you would like to bet on certain events. BetMGM Sportsbook does have some lag time within its app, but it does stand out as a betting app that features more consistent bonuses to users. BetMGM already has some New York roots, including partnering with NYRA Bets for horse betting. BetMGM also became the official sports betting partner of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden.
5. PointsBet Sportsbook
- New York Bonus: Up to $2,000 in risk-free bets
- App Review: PointsBet New York
- Best Feature: PointsBetting
PointsBet Sportsbook features the traditional betting markets such as moneyline and points spread. But its pride and joy is PointsBetting. You can make custom wagers on select markets and be rewarded for how correct those bets turn out to be. For example, a $10 bet on the over total could result in a $100 payout should the game finish 10 points over the line. On top of that, PointsBet also rolls out fairly regular odds boosts. Aside from its app, PointsBet has another New York tie, as former New York Jet Darrelle Revis is an ambassador to the brand.
6. BetRivers Sportsbook
- New York Bonus: 100% up to $250 on deposit
- App Review: BetRivers New York
- Best Feature: iRush Rewards program
An attractive interface and ease of navigation make BetRivers a user-friendly sportsbook and frequent bonuses for bettors. What’s more, BetRivers NY Sportsbook offers its iRush Reward program. You can join the program and claim rewards as they bet with the sportsbook. With an array of betting options, users have ample opportunities to take advantage of that rewards program. Of course, folks may know that BetRivers has a retail sportsbook alternative at Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady.
7. WynnBet Sportsbook
- App Review: WynnBet New York
- Best Feature: Bet slip info breakdown
While relatively new to the online sports betting game, WynnBet offers several amenities that could be valuable to you. This includes the common betting markets complemented by an informational bet slip that tells you how much any given bet will pay out should it win. It’s also a well-designed app that is easy to use and find what you need. An official sports betting partner of the New York Jets, WynnBet has former Jet Nick Mangold on its team of brand ambassadors.
8. Resorts WorldBet
- App Review: Resorts WorldBet New York
- Best Feature: Live in-play betting
Arguably the biggest unknown is Resorts WorldBet, deriving its name, of course, from the Resorts World Catskills casino. The betting app features in-play betting that is as easy to use as it is to find. Open the app and find the tab for featured events and live betting options. You can follow games as they happen and make in-play wagers on moneyline, point spread and over/under total markets. Resorts World Catskills in Monticello features a retail sportsbook known as Sportsbook 360 and is powered by IGT.
Coming soon: Bally Bet Sportsbook
- App Review: Bally Bet New York
- Best Feature: Earning trophies
Bally Bet is not yet available in New York, and it is also a relative newcomer to legal sports betting. Still, the online sportsbook has quite a unique feature. With Bally Bet, users can earn trophies for placing and winning bets. Win enough wagers in certain sports or at select odds, and those trophies turn into free bets.
How to sign up at a NY online sportsbook
It is incredibly easy to download, sign up and get started with mobile sportsbooks in New York. Bettors need to turn on location services and allow geolocation to pinpoint where they are, as this technology ensures users are within New York state lines. For creating accounts and depositing money, though, there is no such restriction.
Users can be located anywhere with an internet connection to sign up and fund their accounts. All they need are a few bits of personal information:
- Name
- Address
- Email address
- Date of birth
- Last four digits of your Social Security number
Mobile sports betting apps need this info to confirm users’ identities and determine if they are eligible to participate in NY online sports betting. After that, it’s as simple as four quick steps to legally bet in New York.
- Download the app.
- Create an account.
- Deposit funds.
- Place your bets!
How NY sports betting bonuses work
The beauty of online sports betting is the access to special offers and promotions such as sign-up and welcome bonuses. Some of the best bonuses New York sports betting sites offer a variety of bonuses.
For starters, no deposit bonuses come about when users receive free bets or other site credits without fulfilling a requirement to fund their sportsbook accounts. Typically, these offers come in the form of welcome bonuses. Here, bettors only need to sign up with a betting app and, in some cases, enter a promo code.
Conversely, deposit bonuses require users to put money into their online sports betting accounts in order to redeem offers. When claiming this offer, once customers fund their accounts, betting apps either match all or a percentage of that deposit.
Other types of sports betting promotions include risk-free bonuses. In these cases, sportsbooks refund wagers up to a pre-specified amount. Simply put: Lose your bet, you get your money back.
With odds boosts, bettors see betting lines that appear longer than normal. A moneyline of +110, for example, may be “boosted” to +240. Users can typically find these promotions listed with other offers or even in their own odds boosts tab.
Read the fine print
Some things to keep in mind with bonuses: First, NY online sportsbooks may not always pay out winnings in cash. In some cases, betting apps may reward users with free bets or other site credits. Once bettors use those credits, and if they win, then customers can withdraw their winnings.
In addition, some sports betting bonuses carry playthrough requirements. What does that mean? Well, for example, sportsbooks may require a 10x playthrough on a $100 free bet. Essentially, bettors must wager $1,000 to convert that bonus into withdrawable cash.
With all bonuses, users should be sure to read the fine print of whichever promotions and offers interest them the most.
Popular sports and bet types
Few states in the country boast as historic and valuable professional sports franchises as New York. What’s more, each of the four major professional sports leagues have headquarters in the state. Bettors in New York have full access to legal sports betting on the likes of the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.
So fans of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, or the Brooklyn Nets and New York Islanders, or the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres can get skin in on the games.
But what kind of bets are available for New Yorkers?
- Let’s say you have plans on betting on the Nets against the Sacramento Kings. Seems like a given that Brooklyn would win, you would think. The moneyline allows you to wager on the Nets to win regardless of the score. With the point spread, you can bet on the Nets winning by more than the specified number (-12.5, for example). And the over/under allows you to wager on Brooklyn and Sacramento combining for more (or less) than the listed total of 210.5 points.
- Maybe one summer day you’re taking in the New York Yankees playing the archrival Boston Red Sox. It’s the third inning and you pull up your betting app of choice. With live betting (or “in-play”), you can wager on any of the aforementioned markets. In addition, on a more micro level, you can also bet on whether the Yanks will score in the fourth inning.
- Another day, you might find yourself getting ready for the Bills hosting an AFC showdown. You’re convinced that Stefon Diggs will take advantage of a weak secondary and erupt for over 100 yards receiving. Open up that betting app and check out the prop bets. It’s likely there.
- The same could be said for futures betting, such as wagering on Bills QB Josh Allen to lead the Bills to a Super Bowl win or slugger Pete Alonso powering the New York Mets to a National League East or — dare we say — World Series title. However, sportsbooks cannot offer odds on MVP or Cy Young awards, as state rules prohibit wagering on voter-based awards.
- Perhaps one day, you have more than just a single hunch. Maybe you’re confident that the Knicks will win outright, that the New York Giants will cover the spread, that Kevin Durant will score more than 25 points. Package all of these into a parlay to potentially earn more. Be warned, though: If any “leg” of that bet loses, the entire parlay loses.
Rules of sports betting in New York
The New York State Gaming Commission finalized rules and regulations in 2021. Among the noteworthy inclusions are that only individuals who are at least 21 years old may legally place bets in the state. Here is a quick look at a few other important rules for betting on sports in NY:
- Bettors must be physically present in New York to wager on events. If geolocation technology determines you are not within state lines, you will not be allowed to bet via NY betting apps.
- Regulators authorized online sportsbooks to accept bets on professional sports, such as the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, as well as various other North American and international competitions.
- Bettors in New York can wager on NCAA events. However, they cannot bet on in-state college teams. So forget about trying to bet on the Syracuse Orange through a NY betting app. That said, college events held in New York are fair game.
- Games or events where a majority of participants are 18 years or younger are prohibited from betting. High school sports are off the board as well.
- Individuals who are not allowed to place legal bets in the state (known as a “prohibited sports bettor” to the NYSGC) include:
- Athletes/players
- Coaches
- Referees
- Physicians/trainers
- Employees of a sport’s governing body
- Sports agent
- Owner, employee, or independent contractor of a team, player union or umpire union
- Official or contractor of a sports governing body if the bets they’re making are on the sports their governing body oversees
- Non-gaming employees of casinos, such as “any principle, key employee or casino gaming employee” of a casino
- Employees and contractors of a sports wagering licensee if that person has any involvement in the running sports betting or processing bets and payments
- Immediate family of a casino employee or contractor who classifies as a prohibited bettor
- NYSGC offers and employees
How NY sports betting came to be
Five years before the US Supreme Court repealed PASPA, New York voters approved a gaming package in 2013 that authorized the construction of four commercial casinos. In addition, that referendum cleared the way for those new upstate properties, each of which opened within the next five years, to offer retail sports betting.
However, sports betting was still up for debate. By mid-2018, neighboring New Jersey began its journey as the nation’s leading sports betting state, launching its online sports betting industry. A few months later, another New York neighbor, Pennsylvania, did the same. Throughout the country, other states legalized and launched online sports betting. New York, though, remained behind the pack.
It wasn’t for lack of effort. Lawmakers continued to introduce bills to green light online sports betting in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Each attempt, though, met similar unsuccessful fates. By 2021, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers didn’t even need to introduce bills because the legalization of online sports betting was included in the state budget, which was signed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
It was the first year in which Cuomo actually showed a willingness to sign off on online sportsbooks in New York. Of course, most of that acceptance stemmed from a massive budget deficit.
While Cuomo favored a lottery-style sports betting industry, which would drastically limit competition, the bidding process ultimately ended in the New York State Gaming Commission selecting nine online sports betting operators with hopes of launching NY sports betting apps in time for the 2022 Super Bowl.
Indeed that was the case, as four NY sportsbooks — Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and BetRivers — went live Jan. 8. High expectations were expected, certainly, especially with the NFL playoffs kicking off a week later. Through nine days, which included two days of NFL postseason action, online NY sports betting generated over $603 million.
By the time the month closed, a US single-month record was set. Online sports betting in New York accepted more than $1.6 billion in just 23 days. That resulted in another US record of $63.3 million in tax revenue.
Five facts about legal NY online sports betting
What you can expect now that legal NY online sports betting has launched:
- You will have access to nine NY betting apps, eight are currently live.
- Those online sportsbooks each pay a 51% tax rate. Taxes go toward education, youth sports and combat problem gambling.
- Based on a closed model of up to four platforms, PlayNY projected that New York online sports betting could lead to $750 million in revenue and $375 million in tax revenue. These figures will obviously increase with nine betting apps. In the first month live online wagering, sportsbooks combined for $124.1 million in NY sports betting revenue as well as $63.3 million in state tax revenue.
- Again, based on the four-platform model, PlayNY estimated that bettors in New York could combine for $7.5 billion in handle over the first four years of the online sports betting industry. And again, because of the five additional sportsbooks, that number expected to be inflated. In fact, in the first month, online sports betting in NY generated a US-record $1.625 billion in handle.
- New York bettors can sign up and register for a sportsbook account from anywhere in the state. There is no in-person registration requirement.
Retail betting: New York sportsbooks near me
New York is home to nearly a dozen retail sportsbooks. Each of the four commercial casinos has its own sports betting facility, and seven tribal casinos have opened their own books. However, New York’s sports betting opportunity is hampered by the fact that each casino location is upstate, far from NYC.
Although New Yorkers who live upstate are benefitting from a wide selection of betting locations, few states benefit more from online sports betting than the Empire State.
- Akwesasne Mohawk Casino & Resort (Sticks Sports Book & Grill)
- Del Lago Resort Casino (DraftKings)
- Point Place Casino (The Lounge with Caesars Sports)
- Resorts World Catskills (Sportsbook 360)
- Rivers Casino & Resort (Rivers)
- Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino (Sports Lounge)
- Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino (Sports Lounge)
- Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino (Sports Lounge)
- Tioga Downs (FanDuel)
- Turning Stone Resort Casino (Caesars)
- Yellow Brick Road Casino (Caesars)
NY Sports Betting FAQ
Yes, sports betting is legal in New York and has been since 2013. Local sportsbooks opened in July 2019. Online sports betting was given the green light in 2021. The first four NY sportsbook apps launched on Jan. 8, 2022, with four others following by March. The last remaining NY online sportsbook expects to launch in April.
Yes. New York betting apps began accepting legal online sports bets on Jan. 8. Eight of the nine approved sportsbooks have since launched.
The New York State Gaming Commission is tasked with overseeing legal online and retail sports betting in the Empire State. In addition to selecting the nine online sportsbooks, the NYSGC also developed rules and regulations for the industry.
No, you cannot bet on the Syracuse Orange in New York. One of the restrictions of NY sports betting is that customers cannot wager on in-state college teams. However, individuals can bet on non-New York teams competing at events held in New York.
It depends on what taxes you mean. If you happen to realize winnings over the course of a tax year, then you do need to claim them as part of your federal, state, and local income taxes. However, the tax rate mentioned in the New York sports betting law is a 51% levy on the sportsbooks themselves, which they must pay for the privilege of operating in the state. So, don’t worry about that bit of taxation, but don’t blow off paying your taxes on gambling winnings, either.
Yes. The FanDuel online sportsbook is live in New York. In addition to offering daily fantasy sports in New York, FanDuel also operates the retail sportsbook at Tioga Downs.
Yes and no. If you’re using a New York betting app operated by a brand that is also live in New Jersey, the app should automatically geolocate you to the new jurisdiction and offer you markets exclusive to New Jersey. However, if your selected app has not been licensed in New Jersey, you will not be able to place any wagers through the online sportsbook. Bottom line: NY apps are for New York, NJ apps are for NJ.
Yes, you do not have to be a New York resident in order to participate in NY online sports betting. The only requirement is that you must be physically located within state lines in order to place a wager.