Legal online sports betting is now a reality in New York, and ever since launching the market has continued to grow. All of the industry-leading online sportsbooks are now available in the Empire State, with sign-up bonuses for new players. If you haven’t started betting but would like to, this complete guide on how to bet on sports online in NY will help you get started.
Best New York sports betting apps
To legally bet on sports in NY, you’re going to need a place to play. With a number of online sportsbooks to choose from, here’s a quick look at the top options:
- FanDuel Sportsbook: As a market leader already, FanDuel is likely to be a favorite in its home state, as well. The easy-to-use betting platform and features like same-game parlays will certainly help.
- BetMGM Sportsbook: If you want a variety of sports to choose from, BetMGM is the place to go. The site also has a number of innovative features like its easy parlay builder and ability to edit your bets.
- Fanatics Sportsbook: A new site in the NY sports betting market, Fanatics is an app-only site (no web-based version) featuring great coverage of sports and leagues, a solid live-betting platform, and the FanCash reward program.
- BetRivers Sportsbook: The Rivers name goes beyond the world of brick-and-mortar casinos. On BetRivers, you’ll find a big menu of sports, a clean listing of available bets and a rewards program where you can collect points.
- DraftKings Sportsbook: DraftKings has emerged as a go-to legal option in a number of states so far. A slick platform, great live betting and betting pools are among the top highlights.
- Caesars Sportsbook: Caesars has been ramping up its sports betting operation. There’s a rewards program for bettors to join, competitive odds, lots of sports to choose from and regular promos.
Is it legal to bet on sports online in NY?
Yes, it’s legal to bet on sports in New York. In fact, the state got ahead of the curve and legalized wagering at commercial casinos in 2013. While in-person betting had the green light at the state level, it would be a few years before we would see substantive action.
In May 2018, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that effectively put the legality question into the hands of individual states to decide for themselves. Neighboring New Jersey and Pennsylvania acted quickly, but it took some time for New York to get going.
Retail sportsbooks began opening for business in July 2019 in the Empire State, but approval for online and mobile betting was another story. After a ton of back and forth, online sports betting finally received approval in 2021.
The first legal online sportsbooks launched in NY in January 2022. Four books — DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and BetRivers — made their debut on opening day. BetMGM and PointsBet are among those that have since followed.
How do you get started?
Getting set up to play with a legal NY online sportsbook is easy. Here are the steps
- Select a sportsbook and head there via a link on this page.
- Follow the prompts, enter your information and create an account.
- Deposit some money to have something to bet with.
- Start browsing around and check out the odds.
- Place your first bet.
From start to finish, you’re looking at a grand total of a few minutes of your time. The information you’ll need is all of the basic variety, such as name, email address and the last four digits of your Social Security number.
The sportsbook will verify your age (you must be 21 or older to legally bet on sports in New York) and identity as part of the process. If it can’t do so, you’ll need to provide supporting documentation to move the process forward.
Deposits are usually pretty quick. Each of the top books will have a dedicated cashier function with several banking options to choose from. The exact methods may vary by site, but common choices include PayPal, credit or debit cards, and bank transfers.
After you’ve looked around, you simply choose what you want to bet on and place your wager. We’ll walk through how that works in a bit, as well as what happens if you win.
Can you bet on all sports in NY?
If it’s a legal sport with at least a decent amount of interest, there’s a good chance that you’ll find it available for wagering at a New York sportsbook. The BetMGM NY app, for instance, has a deep roster of choices. Here’s what the menu can look like, depending on the time of year:
From baseball to volleyball and many points in between, that’s a lot of sports to consider. While not every legal book will list as many, they should all have a solid number.
At all of the top sportsbooks, you won’t have any trouble finding the main leagues and competitions, such as the NFL, NBA, UFC and PGA. The differences generally come in the smaller sports, but you may be able to find what you’re looking for if you shop around.
How do you place bets online?
After you understand how your site of choice works and you’ve taken the time to browse the odds, you may want to place a bet. Once you’ve made your selection, it’s as simple as clicking the odds that correspond with your choice. For a quick example, here’s an NFL game from FanDuel Sports:
From left to right, the standard game listing for major sports will have the odds for the spread, moneyline and total. On the moneyline bet, you just have to pick the winner. For spread bets, your bet needs to factor in a handicap — negative for the favorite and positive for the underdog. And for totals betting, you can wager on whether the combined score will be over or under the sportsbook’s line.
Now let’s say that you decide to go with the Cincinnati Bengals on the spread plus four points. You simply click on that box to move the wager over to the betting slip.
Next, you add in how much you want to bet. You’ll then see your potential return right on the slip.
If everything looks good, you click submit to place the bet. If not, you can adjust your stake or remove the wager from the slip and start over. Once you’ve placed your bet, it’s time to kick back and enjoy the game. You can track the progress in the open bets section of your account, which is where any available early cash-out offers will appear.
What happens if you win?
Once a game or event goes final, online sportsbooks will settle bets quickly, as in within a couple of minutes or less. If you win, you’ll receive the winnings in your account instantly. A few points to keep in mind:
- Once the event goes live, bets are considered action. You can’t void your own bet after placing it, but you may see the option to cash it out at a reduced price. During the game, early cash-out offers may appear in your open bets section.
- Any winnings will depend on the odds at the time that you placed your bet. There may be some movement in the lines afterward, but you’ll be locked in at the number from the time of placement.
- Sportsbooks will settle wagers based on official results and data. The book will not entertain disputes on results that you may disagree with, such as a penalty call that could’ve swung the outcome of the game.
Once the money hits your account, it’s yours to do with as you wish. You can take some or all of it out, or keep it on the site to build a bankroll. As with deposits, legal sportsbooks have a number of withdrawal methods for you to choose from.
As for how long it will take you to receive the funds, that depends on processing time and the method that you choose. Sportsbooks will process withdrawals as quickly as possible, but it could take a business day or two during busy periods.
For methods, some are just quicker than others. As an example, once funds hit your PayPal account, you may be able to receive them instantly or the next day at the latest. A bank transfer, on the other hand, could take a little extra time for processing.
How to get help at an online sportsbook in New York
There may be times when you need a helping hand. If that comes up with an online sportsbook, what do you do? Thankfully, the main legal books prioritize customer service and provide you with several options to use. For example, if you scroll to the bottom of the DraftKings website, you’ll find several choices.
There are clickable links to find some help or simply learn more. You can find many answers in the betting guides on the right. When you need some actual assistance, just click on the “get help” link.
You’ll find a variety of FAQs to choose from, as well as a search bar for specific queries. To speak to a rep, you can click on “contact support” or the support box in the lower right.
Chat and email support are the two main options on the DraftKings app, while some books will offer a dedicated phone line, as well. Books will answer questions in the order they receive them, but the line tends to move quickly.
Where should I play?
The choice of where you sign up and place your bets ultimately comes down to your personal preferences. However, we can’t stress enough the importance of sticking with legal and regulated sportsbooks.
All of the sportsbooks that we recommend on our pages have received regulatory approval to offer online sports betting in New York. They’ve gone through a stringent licensing process, have a vested interest in the industry and are in it for the long haul.
We can’t say the same for offshore sports betting websites that do business in a distant locale where they aren’t subject to New York or US laws. While they’ll be happy to take your business and claim to be legitimate, the bottom line is that they’re not approved to do business in the US.
By extension, there are no protections in place for consumers. If something goes awry, you’re on your own, and there’s no guarantee that your funds will be safe. When you play on a legal sportsbook, there are strict regulations in place to protect customers.
It has been a lengthy process for legal online sports betting to become a reality in NY. Now that it’s here, there’s simply no reason for putting your funds at risk at an offshore site.