Current iGaming Landscape in New York
Gambling in New York has long been an unregulated activity and it took years for the state to legalize any form of gambling. The first to go was horse racing, where bettors could engage in pooled betting systems and bets were only allowed at the track. Since then, New York has made some changed to their legal betting standpoints and simulcast betting is also allowed, along with some gaming machines.
While there are a number of land-based casinos and racetracks in the state, online gambling remains options remain limited in NY. Read more to find about your current betting choices in the Empire State.
For three years in a row, New York legislators have shot down the idea of offering any form of iGaming, so there are no operating online sportsbooks that will be launching in the near future. Unfortunately, this is disappointing news to the tribal casinos that are operating in the state as they are financially struggling.
Legalizing iGaming should help to increase revenue for these casinos, but New York has not yet regulated online casinos or sports betting.
At this time, New York has not taken any steps to legalize online sportsbooks either. However, there is talk that it is being considered. While the state will be behind a number of other early adopters should it decide to offer any sports betting online, there are no definite plans at this time.
For the moment, residents of NY are restricted to land-based betting and some online horse race betting options.
How PASPA Played a Role in Online Betting
In 1992, the US Congress passed PASPA which froze betting laws in place. The only state that continued to offer legal sports betting was Nevada. However, in 2018, PASPA was finally reversed, allowing individual states the ability to offer online sportsbooks to residents.
New Jersey was the first state to start offering this type of betting and this was followed by a few other states. New York was not the first out of the gate, but the Empire State is methodically moving towards legal online sports betting.
When sports betting services are legalized for online bettors, it would start by creating retail bookies at the four commercial casinos in the state. Since these are the only venues that are allowed to take any wagers, any online betting site will have to be associated with these locations.
Lawmakers are trying to move forward with the offering of legal sports betting since the PASPA has been repealed, albeit, slowly.
Should the state decide to get on board, the repeal of PASPA opens the door to the ability to operate betting sites and generate revenue, which would surely help the economy as well as the operating casinos and racinos that are already established in the state.
Sports Betting Regulations are Being Drafted
Even though the state has not yet approved any type of sports betting, the NY Gaming Commission is already working on regulations that would be in place when the time comes. The regulations should include mobile betting, as this will offer a huge increase in revenue once the state agrees to legalize betting.
Unfortunately, things are being stalled by the current governor, who has not been supportive of any form of online betting or gambling. We will have to wait and see what 2019 brings and hope that a sports gambling legislation could be included in a future state budget.
Based on the success enjoyed by other states who do offer online casinos and online sportsbooks, it is apparent that New York is missing out on millions in possible revenue. Read about the state of NY online casinos with this article.
The longer the state waits to pass laws, the more money they lose as bettors will simply take their business into Pennsylvania or across the bridge into New Jersey where they can visit multiple casinos in Atlantic City that offer sports betting as well as online access.
Daily Fantasy Sports Betting is Legal in NY
Oddly enough, New York did decide to allow residents to engage in Daily Fantasy sports betting and this is legal and regulated in the state. In 2016, the state passed a law that would allow fantasy sports betting sites to offer services to those in New York and some major operators like FanDuel and DraftKings are among the top choices for bettors.
So far, this has been beneficial to the state, generating some great amounts of revenue. In 2016, operators generated over $18,000,000 in gaming revenue, averaging over $3 million each month. Of that, the state was able to collect 15% in taxes from the daily fantasy sports operators.
The success of this form of betting would have many believing that online sports betting and online casinos would help boost revenue even further, but the state has no plans to offer either of these services at this time.
