The day bettors in the Empire State have been hoping for has finally come. Sports bettors will no longer have to drive upstate to a casino or to New Jersey to place a bet on the Yankees, Bills, or Knicks. They can now do so from anywhere inside state borders.
That’s right, sports fans. As of Saturday, January 8, mobile sports betting is live in the state of New York. There is plenty of promos and bonus offers for new users, too.
Four Of Nine NY Sportsbooks Launch
Late last year, the New York State Gaming Commission approved nine sportsbook companies to launch mobile apps in the state — DraftKings, FanDuel, BetRivers, Caesars, BetMGM, PointsBet, WynnBET, Bally Bet, and Resorts World Bet.
Of those nine, four have met all the requirements to launch. The NYSGC gave those sportsbooks the go-ahead to launch at 9 a.m. on Jan. 8. The other five will be allowed to launch on a rolling basis as they satisfy statutory and regulatory requirements.
The four that launched are DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, and BetRivers. Here are the sign-up offers for three of them.
- DraftKings: $50 free bet with $5 deposit + 20% deposit-match up to $1,000
- FanDuel: Risk-free first bet up to $1,000
- Caesars: $300 free bet at registration plus a second free bet equal to 100% of your initial deposit up to $3,000
NY Sports Betting Has Monster Debut
The betting handle from the first 12 hours mobile sports betting was live in New York shattered the betting handle in every other state during the same time period.
New York sports bettors wagered a combined $5.8 million between 9 a.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on the first day they were allowed to do so. For comparison, the second-largest handle during that time period was $2.3 million in Pennsylvania.
What Does That Mean For Me In Virginia?
If you should travel to the Big Apple or anywhere else in the Empire State and want to place a bet you can. However, if you do, there are certain things you will want to keep in mind.
For one, you cannot use your FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, or BetRivers Virginia account to place a bet with the corresponding provider in New York. You will need to register for a new account to bet in New York. However, even though it is a new user account in New York since you already have one in Virginia, you are ineligible for the sign-up bonus.
While in New York, you can bet on the Virginia Tech Hokies, Virginia Cavaliers, or any other college team from Virginia. However, it is not legal to bet on sports events featuring a college team from New York.
