Mobile sports betting to go live in New York state Saturday morning ahead of schedule

Just a few days ago, New York state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Queens), chairman of the Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, said this about mobile sports betting going live in the Empire State: "I think that we're still on par for a mid-January start in my estimation." Instead, it will go live Saturday at 9 a.m. ET, just in time for the final weekend of the NFL regular season – not that the terrible Giants or Jets have anything to play for (they actually play in New Jersey). Good news for Bills fans heading into the playoffs.

The New York State Gaming Commission on Thursday approved four licensed mobile operators – Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel and Rush Street Interactive – to start taking wagers on Saturday morning. It will be on each of the operators when they can begin accepting wagers after 9 a.m. ET. You can be assured they will all be ready.

That makes New York the most populous state with mobile betting. Caesars has started a TV ad blitz to alert New Yorkers the company is about to go live with mobile.

"This is great timing. It's a win for the state of New York," said Addabbo Jr. "Mobile sports betting will generate additional revenue for the state including for education and it will create jobs."

New York already was the most populous one with betting overall as California, Florida and Texas are all dragging their feet. Florida did have mobile betting briefly at the end of 2021 but lawsuits put a stop to that for now. New York's first legal sports wager in-person came in 2019, but the state has reportedly generated only $3.7 million in tax revenue at its in-person sportsbooks, all of which are at upstate casinos at least an hour from New York City. New York expects $10 billion in sports betting in the next year with profits of about $1 billion.

NY assemblyman Gary Pretlow on the road to Saturday's mobile launch: "It progressed at the speed of a tortoise, but I think the results are going to represent the hare."

New Jersey has been raking in hundreds of millions in tax revenues for a few years and most New Yorkers would simply cross the Hudson River to make a wager and head back. More than 80 percent of wagers in New Jersey are via mobile.

Five other sportsbooks will be approved in New York on a rolling basis as their requirements are met: Bally Bet, BetMGM, PointsBet, Resorts World (with PointsBet as platform provider) and WynnBET.

The Jets visit the Bills on Sunday and the Giants host Washington. The first Knicks game available via mobile betting will be Saturday night in Boston. Hockey-wise, the Islanders' first eligible game is Saturday afternoon at home vs. Washington, and for the Rangers it's Saturday night at Anaheim. 

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