New York

Mobile sports betting has been legal in New York since January 2022, after four sportsbook apps were approved for launch in the states. From there, the number of betting apps rose to nine, giving bettors plenty of wagering options and promotional offers.

Within the state, no restrictions on the type of sports players can bet on are in place — essentially, players can enjoy betting on both professional and collegiate leagues. However, players cannot place bets on college teams from New York or any NCAA event in the state. Horse race betting is also completely legal in The Empire State.

In addition, even though eSports online betting hasn’t yet become available in NY, bettors can still place eSports wagers on any retail sportsbooks found on tribal land. For those looking for a sports betting alternative, daily fantasy sports apps are fully legal in NY, and individuals can find some of the most prominent DFS apps on the market.

Online sports betting in The Empire State

Over the years, New York has gradually moved to legalize sports betting in various forms. Though online sports gambling took a little longer to arrive, in-person sports wagering has been legal since 2019. At this point, it was already possible to place bets at one of the four commercial and five-plus Tribal casinos within the state.

The path to online sports betting in New York had already been made much easier by lawmakers pushing for land-based domestic sports wagering. This finally came into force in 2019 through a referendum that gained a majority and allowed sports betting in casinos upstate. In 2021, this shift made online sports betting legal in the state too, which allowed bets to be placed via smartphones and mobile apps.

After this, the first sportsbook apps went live in the state at the beginning of 2022. The New York State Gaming Commission oversees all of this, which checks out each application, provides licenses, and continues monitoring the operation of each casino to ensure compliance with state laws.

Interestingly, while it took a while for sports betting to get off the ground here, land-based casinos have been around for a lot longer. Casinos were made legal in 2013, and before this, the only casinos available in the state were the tribal casinos, and the state limited sports gambling to horse racing only.

Now that sports betting is fully operational, players in NY have full access to a wide range of betting options.

All legal NY sports betting apps in 2024 (from newest to oldest):

Recently closed online sportsbooks

Sports betting & gambling legislation in NY

With sports gambling legal within New York, players must remain mindful of any restrictions that are in place. To wager at domestic land-based or mobile betting sites, players must be 21 years old. The age limits remain the same across all sports, though making it easy to monitor.

While players don't have to live in the state to access the sports betting apps, players do need to be within the state borders when placing bets and playing. All sportsbooks tend to have an app and a desktop platform, allowing players to switch between the two or choose which option they prefer. Bettors can create accounts on these apps from anywhere within the state, as NY offers remote registration.

The tax rate on sports betting or gambling in general in New York is a bit complicated. New York’s state tax system works on a graduated income tax, so an individual’s tax rate is based on their tax bracket. Since gambling winnings are considered taxable income, they could affect which tax rate a bettor pays, as these tax rates start at 4% on the low end and go all the way up to 10.9% for the highest tax bracket.

In terms of future gambling legislation updates in New York, the public attention is firmly on online casinos, as the advocates of legalized iGaming and online gambling are aiming for the legalization of NY online casinos in the 2024 calendar year.

Most recent updates from the NY sports betting scene

• October 10, 2024: With a win over the Phillies, the New York Mets will be advancing to the NLCS. New York is now (+135) to win the NL and (+370) to win the World Series.

• October 8, 2024: The New York Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh. New York is currently (+110) to make the postseason after their 2-3 start.

• October 3, 2024: New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation requiring all advertisements for gambling and sports betting to include warnings about the dangers and addictive effects of betting. Prior to this legislation, these ads just needed to include the gambling addiction hotline number.

• September 30, 2024: The New York Knicks have acquired Karl-Anthony Towns in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. New York is now (+800) to win the NBA Finals.

• September 25, 2024: The New York Liberty have advanced to the WNBA Semi-Finals, where they will play the Las Vegas Aces. The Liberty remains the favorite to win the WNBA title at (+140).

• September 23, 2024: ESPN Bet has officially been cleared by the New York State Gaming Commission to start accepting mobile wagers. The product could potentially start taking wagers as soon as this weekend.

• September 20, 2024: For the first time since 2015, the New York Jets beat the New England Patriots at home. New York is now (+245) to win the AFC East.

• September 10, 2024: The New York Jets could not pick a win in Aaron Rodgers' comeback, as they fell 32-19 to the 49ers. The Jets are currently (-3.5) point road favorites over the Titans for week two.

• September 5, 2024: The New York Mets have swept the Boston Red Sox and are now just a half-game back of the final NL wild-card spot.

In-person sports betting sites and locations

In 2013, the New York Gaming Economic Development Act paved the road for sports betting. In 2019, several licensed casinos could offer sports betting, but only once the State changed the federal law. As soon as this happened, legislation was passed allowing these established casinos to operate sportsbooks.

At the time, New York has multiple retail sportsbooks, with four commercial casinos and seven tribal casinos operating their own betting facilities. However, the inconvenience for New Yorkers in NYC is that all these casinos are upstate.

Sports betting in neighboring states

If traveling across state lines, you might want to know the up-to-date sports betting legislation regarding NY's neighboring states. Here's a quick recap of the situation.

Clicking the state's name from the list below will bring up more information about its sports gambling legislation and all the available betting apps.

Sports betting revenue impact on New York's economy

Only four commercial and five tribal casinos hold sportsbook licenses in New York. These nine operators have 10-year permission from the New York State Gaming Commission. The actual application fee to get a license in the state is not known.

However, a final tax rate of 51% has been announced for all online sports betting, and with this rate, the state was able to gather nearly $80 million in tax revenue in just five weeks. In addition, there are recent bids to offer sportsbooks in NY from at least five more operators, but these were not approved at the end of 2021.

Since the launch of mobile sports betting in New York in 2022, the state has frequently exceeded over a billion dollars in the monthly handle. The old saying “City that never sleeps” seems to apply to the entire state regarding gambling, as New York has generated the second-most revenue and the most tax income from sports betting in the country.

Top 3 sportsbooks in the state in August 2024:

1. DraftKings(Handle: $526.6m, Revenue: $43.3m)

2. FanDuel (Handle: $511.6m, Revenue: $52.6m)

3. BetMGM Sportsbook (Handle: $127.9m, Revenue: $7.03m)

New York sports betting record months:

• Sports betting handle: November 2023 ($2,109,294,400)

• Revenue: January 2024 ($211,706,706)

• Tax income: January 2024 ($107,887,645)

NY sports betting revenue in 2024

NY's current year's monthly sports betting handle, revenue, and tax income figures are presented in the table below, including the year-to-date totals. The percentage next to each monthly handle and revenue shows the relative growth, or the decline, of such a figure compared to the previous month.

Yearly revenue data