Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State
- Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State Today
- Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State Map
- Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State 2018
- Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State 2020
- Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State 2017
- Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State Now
The question of the state Constitution’s prohibitions on gambling has been at the center of the issue of expanding New York’s sports betting beyond casinos and into mobile or online platforms. Within a week, New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gambling, authorizing the issue of both online poker and online casino licenses to casinos in Atlantic City. In April 2013, the first legal online gambling site in the United States went live in Nevada.
Living in New York means you have plenty of access to bookies, though these have historically been extensions of criminal enterprises and are surely not legal sportsbooks for New York residents. Since not paying your debts can result in broken legs or worse, we do not recommend you gamble with these criminals and thugs. That said, sports betting has been nominally legal in NY for many years, and in 2019, the first actual brick-and-mortar sports betting lounges opened in upstate NY’s four new commercial casinos. Since domestic online wagering is not legal in New York and will likely require a public referendum, you will not be able to conveniently place bets with these upstate venues using your iPhone, Android, desktop, or laptop computers.
In order to wager at licensed NY betting operators, you will have to physically make your way to these books. These are located in Monticello at Resorts World Catskills, in Nichols at Tioga Downs Casino, in Schenectady at Rivers Casino & Resort, and in Waterloo at del Lago Resort and Casino. Of course, there is a compelling and long-running alternative if you wish to wager from home (or anywhere else in the state): legal offshore sports betting sites. Indeed, there are plenty of legal online sports betting websites available for NY residents, and these will allow you to bet safely. When it comes down to it, you will be able to play the odds without fear of arrest, as players have not been banned from joining in on the fun through these legal online sports betting websites.
Residents of New York enjoy many different ways of gaining access to various types of gambling, between existing tribal gaming venues, online casino gaming sites, and online sportsbooks that allow bets from New York players. Residents of this state can safely place all the online bets they want at legal online casinos and offshore online sportsbooks that accept New York residents. It is naturally more convenient to play your favorite gambling games and to place sports bets at online casinos and sportsbooks because this doesn’t require leaving your house or even putting on pants, which is always a plus. That’s why New York gamblers enjoy using legal sports betting sites.
As far as the specific legalities of offshore sports betting for NY residents, you can check out section 225.00 et seq. of the New York Penal Code for more information. Note that the NY gambling laws include zero mention of the words “Internet,” “online,” or “sports.”
In the Empire State, no laws exist in the state penal code that would make online gambling explicitly illegal. That is why not one single arrest has ever taken place in New York for any crimes related to online sports gambling or casino play. New York residents shouldn’t fear federal prosecution either, since the Department of Justice officially altered their reading of the 1961 Federal Wire Act to make it clear that the law only applies to providers of illegal sports betting action (i.e. bookies), and not to online gamblers themselves.
Another important law that New York bettors should know is the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). This law was passed in 1992, and it banned most US states from offering sports betting of any kind. However, online wagers made on sports were not characterized under this law, and PASPA was already a bit obsolete by the time the Supreme Court overturned the law as unconstitutional in 2018. Sports bettors are safe to place their wagers online in New York, and NY is slated to have in-state sports betting in the near future, as well.
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The state of New York has not addressed the use of the Internet for gambling, so there simply aren’t any sports betting laws in New York that address Internet sports gambling. Of course, there is finally a limited selection of licensed and regulated local bookies in New York that you are able to wager with. With PASPA gone, the state is also currently considering half a dozen or more bills that would set the governmental terms for a legalized Internet and/or statewide sports betting industry, though it could take several years for sports wagering to extend past the four casino venues where it is currently available.
But even once that happens, you will almost certainly get better odds and lines using an offshore sportsbook, as local New York books will have to weigh many of their contests due to the “home team” bettors they’ll have to balance their books against. Internationally-based offshore sportsbooks do not have this same problem with homers weighing certain lines on certain games, as they accept players from all over the United States.
How Federal Laws Impact New York Sports Betting
There are two different federal laws that impact legal New York sports betting: the Interstate Wire Act (1961) and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA, 2006). PASPA was the most suffocating and restrictive of the American sports betting laws from a state perspective, but even though it’s no longer in play, the remaining two federal laws are still important to understand.
The Wire Act’s purpose was to prevent bookmakers from accepting interstate wagers placed using telegraphic or telephonic means. This extends to the Internet, but it does not apply to offshore sportsbooks, as these books operate outside of US jurisdiction. The Wire Act also does not criminalize those who place wagers, instead going after only those who place them. Offshore sports betting renders the Wire Act moot.
Similarly, the UIGEA doesn’t go after New York sports bettors themselves. However, the law actually does affect New York players because it puts banking restrictions on all gambling sites. The UIGEA doesn’t allow banks to knowingly accept gambling transactions, but the top sites have figured their ways around this as well. Neither of the remaining federal antigambling laws have anything to do with individual players, but it is important to understand these laws for your own peace of mind.
The legal gambling age for players living in or visiting New York is 21 years old. This means that despite a betting site only requiring NY residents to be at least 18 to sign up, players in New York should still wait until they are 21 before joining. While nobody has ever been arrested or fined for wagering underage at offshore sportsbooks, it’s always a good idea to “comply” with your state’s laws. It shows good faith on your part, and it is simply an added measure of security when wagering on sports online.
Mobile sports betting has become incredibly popular among New York sports betting fans. All of the top online sportsbooks are offshore sites that are legally regulated and licensed outside of the United States, making them totally safe to use for New York residents. All of these top sites offer mobile sports betting in New York so players can enjoy gambling on sports from their smartphone or tablet devices whenever they want. While none of these sites actually has an official iPhone or Android app available in the App Store or in Google Play, the mobile versions of their sites are optimized for the small screen and offer fluid, gesture-based interaction for quick searching and wagering.
Both tribal casinos and four upstate casinos can offer sports betting in New York. However, there is no concrete timetable on when that will be expanded to include online or mobile betting. It seems like a good bet that NY legislators will want to eventually expand sports wagering, but the timeline is still unknown.
As such, it will be some time before NY actually gets its state-sanctioned, online sports betting system up and running, and in the meantime, you should continue using legal offshore New York betting sites. In fact, even when you legally wager locally in the Big Apple, you should still maintain your offshore sports betting memberships, as this allows you to shop lines and maximize your potential payouts.
Is Bovada Legal For New York Residents?
Fortunately, Bovada resumed accepting all wagers from existing New York account holders and also opened registration to all those living in the Empire State. New Jersey residents remain excluded from using Bovada, as do residents of Maryland, Delaware, and Nevada.
Are There Any Brick and Mortar Sportsbooks in New York?
Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State Today
Yes! There are two brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in New York currently open for business. These include:
- Tioga Downs Casino (Nichols)
- Rivers Casino & Resort (Schenectady)
How Can I Tell if an Online Sports Betting Site Accepts Wagers from New York citizens?
Most sportsbook websites that accepts American bettors will take wagers from people living in New York. If you are not geographically eligible to join a sportsbook, the book in question will advertise this fact clearly and will not let you complete the sign-up process.
New York is one of the biggest sports markets in the entire country, and is home to some of the most storied professional sports teams of all time. The New York Yankees have nearly 30 championships in the MLB, while the Mets have added a couple more. The NFL has three different teams that call New York home, with the Giants being most successful. Of course, the local fandom for the Jets and the Bills is through the roof as well, even though they’ve had less postseason success historically. The NHL’s Islanders and Rangers have combined for several Stanley Cup trophies, while the Knicks of the NBA have a few championships under their belt, as well. And of course, there is a hefty NCAA presence in the Empire State, with over a dozen DI teams showing up on the betting boards each gameday.
- NFL: Giants, Jets & Bills
- MLB: Yankees & Mets
- NBA: Knicks & Nets
- NHL: Islanders, Rangers & Sabers
- MLS: New York City FC & Red Bulls
- NCAA: Syracuse Orange, Army Black Knights, Columbia Lions & Cornell Big Red
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Of all the 38 states that have introduced a sports betting bill, New York’s situation is perhaps the messiest. New York lawmakers failed to include sports betting revenue as part of their most recent state budget on April 1, 2019. State lawmakers are having trouble finding a consensus on how they want to implement sports betting in New York. New York is losing revenue to neighboring states with each passing day. Decisions need to be made quickly. Otherwise, New York will get caught waiting another year before being able to bring online and mobile sports betting to New Yorkers. A mistake that will cost the state millions in revenue.Sports betting is currently legal at the four upstate commercial casinos. Land-based sports wagering was approved in 2013. However, there are currently no legal New York sportsbooks open. While the four commercial casinos in New York are the only ones who can currently apply for a sports betting license, lawmakers are looking to expand the option to tribal casinos and off-track betting facilities.
Back in 2013, New York voters passed a referendum that allowed for gambling expansion in the state. The New York Gaming Economic Development Act allowed for the construction of four commercial casinos in upstate New York. As part of that Act, those casinos were permitted to allow sports betting, so long as each casino got approval from the state’s gaming commission.
The Supreme Court ruling in May of 2018 to remove the federal ban on sports betting has allowed for the state of New York to make steps towards launching sports betting at those casinos.
New York’s Four Commerical Casinos
Tioga Downs Casino Resort
Tioga Downs Casino was the first of the commercial casinos to open its doors in December 2016. A $134 million expansion turned this former horse track into a full-fledged casino. Tioga Downs Casino is owned by Jeff Gural, who also owns Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey. Meadowlands Racetrack is home to FanDuel Sportsbook. We can logically expect to see Tioga Downs with a FanDuel New York sportsbook and potentially PointsBet Sportsbook as well.
Del Lago Resort & Casino
Del Lago Resort & Casino was the second commercial casino to open in New York in February 2017. del Lago is the largest of the four upstate commercial casinos, with 94,000 square feet of gaming area. del Lago has already formed a partnership with DraftKings Sportsbook to operate its sportsbook.
Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady
Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady opened a week after del Lago in February 2017. This $330 million property is owned by Rush Street Interactive, the same as Pennsylvania’s Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. You can expect a similar betting platform at Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady as the one at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. Mobile betting applications should be identical as well.
Resort World Catskills
Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State Map
Resort World Catskills is the newest of the four commercial casinos. This whopping $1.2 billion property opened its doors in February of 2018. They have already made their sports betting partnership as well, teaming up with European company Bet365.
Is Online Gambling Legal In New York State 2018
Mobile Betting In New York
It was believed that an amendment to the New York State Constitution would be necessary to allow for mobile wagering. However, a number of top law firms in New York have said that no amendment is needed to allow for mobile sports betting. Once legislation passes, we will see how far DraftKings & FanDuel will push this theory. We have seen both companies be aggressive in New York City in the past.
For the state of New York to make the most out of sports betting, mobile betting is a must. It is estimated that 25 percent of the revenue generated in New Jersey from sports betting comes from New York residents.
Mobile sports betting has recently taken a step towards legalization. Earlier this month the New York Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee advanced a sports betting bill unanimously. The bill, S 17, will now head to the Senate Finance Committee. These are the easy hurdles for the bill, as the Senate has already included sports betting in their budget. The difficult hurdles for S 17 will be passing through the Assembly and eventually getting Governor Cuomo’s signature.
Senator Joseph Addabbo, chairman of the Senate Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee introduced sports betting bill S 17. The bill would allow for mobile sports betting at commercial and tribal casinos. Under the bill, anyone over the age of 21 will be eligible to place a legal sports wager in New York.
Future of New York Sports Betting
With neighboring New Jersey, and soon enough Pennsylvania sports betting going live, mobile sports betting is a must. New York City, which has a population of 8.17 million is too far from the state’s commercial casinos. Residents of New York City won’t travel four hours to place a bet when they can simply cross into New Jersey and bet on their phones. With nearly 43 percent of the state’s population in New York City, it is crucial for New York sports betting to include mobile wagering. If not, those residents will continue to travel out-of-state to place their bets.
The current legislative session ends on June 19. Therefore, S 17 may be the state’s last chance to get legal sports betting this year. The clock is ticking in New York.
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