New York Online Gambling

New York recently gave the green light to online sports betting, joining the many states in the US that have done so. Legal online sports betting in New York went live on January 8, 2022.

Besides online sports betting, fantasy sports (DFS) and horse race betting are also legal, but online casino gambling and online poker are illegal in the Empire State.

Lawmakers tried to pass legislation in 2023 to expand iGaming and launch online casino gaming and poker, but the bills did not win enough support and were not considered.

The Status of Legal Online Gambling in New York

The recent launch of online sports betting in New York, is big news for the millions of sports fans in the state. And while sports betting will undoubtedly be the most popular form of online gaming in New York, the success of online casino games and online poker in neighboring states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey is a cause for hope for New Yorkers looking for other forms of igaming.

Sports Betting

Retail sportsbook betting has been legal in New York since 2019, and in April of 2021, state legislators approved online sports betting.

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) is the body that licenses and regulates online sports betting in the state, and they have granted nine licenses. The nine operators will have to pay a 51% gross revenue tax.

The online sports betting officially went live in the state on January 8, 2022, with the first operators launching their sites. The first five bookies to join the newly regulated market and currently accepting bets are:

• BetMGM
• BetRivers
• Caesars Sportsbook
• DraftKings
• FanDuel
• PointsBet (* future Fanatics Sportsbook)
• Resorts World Bet
• WynnBET

As mentioned, the Gaming Commission issued nine licenses in total — the ninth operator, Bally Bet, has not yet launched.

Online Casinos

Online casinos are still not regulated in New York, which means NY residents still do not have access to any licensed casino sites. However, with the passage of the sports betting bill and the first bookmakers setting up the shop, things are going in the right direction.

All of the sports betting sites like BetMGM and FanDuel already have online casino platforms and offer them to residents of other regulated states like New Jersey and Michigan. It is safe to assume these operators will jump at the opportunity to add the casino to their offering as soon as required laws are in place.

Online Poker

Online poker is not legal in the state of New York. Previous attempts to legalize online poker have included verbiage classifying poker as a game of skill — the first step in the path of legalizing online poker.

Lawmakers, led by Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., have proposed having up to 11 licenses issued for online poker — at least initially. A licensing fee of $10 million and a 15% tax rate have both been suggested.

Passage of an iGaming expansion bill that authorizes online poker will give NY players safe and legal alternatives to unregulated offshore operators.

Fantasy Sports

Fantasy sports betting is legal in New York. In 2016, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law the measure that legalized DFS betting. The DFS sites have to be registered with the New York State Gaming Commission. The four DFS sites available in New York are:

• DraftKings
• FanDuel
• Yahoo Fantasy
• Fantasy Draft

Why Choose a Legal New York Online Sports Betting Site?

New York sports betting sites are regulated and licensed by the New York State Gaming Commission. They ensure fairness at the sites when it comes to terms and conditions and having fair odds. If a site is licensed by the (NYSGC) you can be sure that it is 100% legal and safe to play at. You can be sure that New York licensed gaming sites are safe to play while that is not the case for many offshore sites.

Here are the reasons to choose a legal New York sportsbook:

• Fairness — Each of the licensed New York gaming sites is tested for fairness regularly. The NYSGC also makes sure that there are clear terms and conditions for the bonuses and promotions offered.
• Protection – A player is protected at a New York state regulated online sports betting site. They will have measures in place when registering to make sure the player is of legal gambling age. On top of that, there will be security measures in place for the protection of player’s financial and personal information.
• Accountability – A legal New York sports betting site will also be held accountable if there are any disputes between them and a player. If a player has an issue that cannot be resolved with the site, the NYSGC will be a mediator between the two and come up with a solution.
• Responsible Gaming — At licensed and regulated New York gaming sites, there are responsible gaming tools to help players with a gambling problem. Such tools as deposit, betting, time limits and self-exclusion can help make online gambling enjoyable and help people from becoming addicted. The (NYSGC) also works with the sites to have responsible gaming information available and ways to get in touch with organizations specifically for people with gambling issues.
• Community Benefits — The taxes from online sports betting in New York will be used for things such as community improvements, education, and funding problem gambling organizations. The 51% gross revenue tax rate is one of the highest in the US. The tax dollars will be more than significant for the Empire State, which is one of the largest betting market in the U.S.

How to Know If a New York Online Sports Betting Site Is Legal, Regulated, and Safe

Here are some ways to tell if a New York online sports betting site is legal or illegal:

• The easiest way is to check USGamingReview.com
• State regulator – A legal New York sportsbook will have on their site the season of the New York State Gaming Commission.
• Cryptocurrency — If a site accepts Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, the gaming site is illegal.
• US Players Welcome – Legal betting sites are regulated by the state, so if you see any type of language such as “US Players Welcome” it could be a good indication that the site is not a legal one.
• Any site that has a domain ending in anything other than .com, such as .ag, .lv, .eu.

Important Information When Choosing an Online Sports Betting Site in New York

When you join a New York sports betting site, there are things you need to look for. These things are beside the all-important license the site must carry to be a legitimate one. Here is some important information on aspects of an online gaming site that you should be aware of.

Welcome Bonus

New York sportsbooks offer a welcome bonus to entice new players to wager there. They are offered to new players in the form of a match bonus or free bets. Anytime you join a site to wager at, you should take advantage of a welcome bonus, as you can get free bonus money, and you can also try out the site on their dime.

Make sure you read the terms and conditions of a welcome bonus before you opt into it. There will be wagering requirements for the bonus, and you will have to fulfill those before you can take out the bonus funds from a match welcome offer or take out the winnings from a free bet or free bets.

Promotions

Gaming sites offer promotions and bonuses to players that already are signed up with them, and they offer them to keep existing players happy. There are various promos offered, as they can be for free bets, bet insurance, reload bonuses, welcome bonuses and more. You want the best value for any promotion you take advantage of, and you should continue to check the promotions page to see what is available to you.

Rewards

Most New York sports betting sites will offer a rewards program for loyal players. Usually, in a rewards program, there are different levels and the more you wager at the site, the higher level you will be in and, therefore, more benefits you can receive. Most of the time, you can find out rewards program info on the promotions page of a gaming site. Enrolling in a rewards program is usually done right after you register, but you may have to opt into it.

Some of the benefits you can get in a rewards program are free bets, bonus money, site credit, and exclusive bonus offers. Often, if a site is partnered with a land-based casino, you may be able to get things such as discounted rooms and taxi service to and from the nearby airport. Whenever you play on a site, you should often be in the rewards program, as Mastercard is right, as membership has its rewards.

Mobile

Mobile gaming is very popular these days, and the New York gaming sites are mobile compatible. They will either have an application to download or you can play directly through your mobile browser. Mobile gaming is great, as you can wager on the go no matter where you are within the state.

Not only can you wager through your mobile device, but you can also take care of deposits and withdrawals, check out and opt into available bonuses and promotions, and contact the customer service department.

One of the nice things about mobile gaming is you can turn notifications on to get access to exclusive bonus offers that may be available. On top of that, you can sometimes find bonuses specifically for mobile players. Mobile gaming offers all the things the desktop version does, including things such as live betting. Through geolocation technology, the site will pinpoint your location, as you will only be able to make wagers when you are physically located in New York.

Sports and Markets

Licensed online sportsbooks will offer players many sports to bet on and many bets to make. This will be the case for New York sites since some of the big names have already procured a license.

You will be able to bet on the popular sports of baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer and more. The books will also offer less popular sports such as badminton, darts, and cricket, to name just a few.

You also want to ensure the online bookie has a wide bet variety, as the more options you have, the more bets you can make. The typical bet types offered are moneylines, spreads, totals, futures, parlays, round robins, and proposition bets. The more popular the sport, the more betting markets are available. For example, for an NFL game, there will usually be over 200 bets to make.

Legal vs Illegal Online Sports Betting

A legal online sports betting site in the state of New York will be licensed and regulated by the New York State Gaming Commission. They are responsible for making sure the online sportsbook has fair odds, pays out players, and is transparent when it comes to terms and conditions of bonuses. For every legal online sportsbook, you should see their symbol somewhere on the landing page.

When it comes to illegal sports betting sites they are not licensed or regulated. Because of this they are not held to the same standards when it comes to strict regulations that have to be followed like at legal sites. Illegal offshore sites are known to scam players out of money and sometimes just disappear.

Besides not having a license there are a couple of things to look for in an illegal sportsbook. First, they will not offer a VIP/loyalty program like many legal sites do. A program such as this rewards loyal players that play often and stay gaming on the site. Since an illegal site has no intentions of staying live for a long period of time they never offer that type of program.

A solid customer support department is also a sign that a site is a legal one. If you see a sportsbook that has no live chat or phone support beware.

Illegal Online Gaming Offered in New York

Illegal online gaming operators are targeting people in New York offering all kinds of gambling including sports betting, casino games and poker. The illegal operators know that New York is a populous state and there are many people that would like to take part in online gaming that isn’t legal yet, such as online casino gambling and online poker.

They will advertise their services and hope they bring in players. However, New Yorkers should not fall for those sites, as many are scams and players will always be at risk of unfair play and unscrupulous business practices. And since any type of online casino or online poker is illegal,not only will players be at risk of being scammed out of money, they may also face legal ramifications.

Why Offshore Betting Sites are Unsafe

While there are licensed offshore betting sites that are legitimate, they can still be unsafe to play at. First and foremost, your money may be at risk, as it is common for offshore sites to:

• Pay out winnings very slowly to encourage more betting until a player loses
• Close a player’s account, where they will lose funds, if they are winning
• Use misleading language when describing promotions
• Have funds seized in transit by government authorities

Another reason that it is unsafe to wager at offshore sites is the identity theft issue. Michigan Gaming Control Board Executive Director Henry Williams stated in 2021 that, “If you share personal information with an unregulated gambling site, there are no guarantees your information won’t be sold to or used by criminals.

“Identity theft is the most common complaint received by the Federal Trade Commission. In 2020, 1.3 million identity theft reports were made in the US.”

Play may not be fair either at offshore sites since they do not have a reputable gaming regulator in place to ensure fair play. Bonuses and promotions may be misleading and not honored or may be canceled altogether. Winning bets can also be canceled.

A legal state regulated betting site will also have responsible gaming features in place such as time, bet, deposit limits and self-exclusion tools. The regulatory body for legal sites will make sure there are measures in place to ensure players are of legal gambling age, there are responsible gambling features in place, and there is information available to players for problem gambling services. None of these things are available at offshore sites.

If you gamble at offshore sites the money is not taxed and there are no benefits to the community. For state run legal gaming sites, like sportsbooks in New York, the sites have to pay taxes, where the funds are used for such things as community improvements and aiding problem gambling services in the state.

Responsible Gaming Resources in New York

Gambling Limit Tools

Online gaming sites in New York have tools for players that may have an issue with gambling. These are some of the most common tools which can help people control their gambling online:

• Deposit Limits — Limits the amount of money you can deposit into your online gaming account.
• Bet Limits — Limits the amount you can bet on a single wager.
• Time Limits — Limits the amount of time that you are playing at an online gaming site. Many times, when you have gone past the set limit you will not be able to login to the site where you play.
• Self-Exclusion — You can self-exclude yourself from playing at a gaming site, as you will not have access to it. You can set up the self-exclusion, and you can set it for weeks, months, years, and even for life.

Responsible Gambling Resources

There is no lack of responsible gambling services available to New Yorkers trying to avoid the pitfalls of gambling, or if they think they have an issue. Here are some of the top responsible gambling services in the Empire State.

• The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports can help people with gambling issues. They have a lot of information about problem gambling on their website, and you can call their helpline at 1-877-8HOPENY, and you can also text them at 467369.
• The New York Council on Problem Gambling can help you learn about problem gambling, and they can steer you to problem gambling resource centers near where you live. They can be contacted at 518-867-4084, and there are also several specialized email addresses on their website.
• National Council on Problem Gambling — New York — This national organization can help you find counseling, treatment, self-help, and support groups in New York.
• GamTalk (www.gamtalk.org) is a 24/7 moderated online peer support forum for people with gambling issues.
• Gamblers Anonymous — You can get gambling problem information and find support meetings in New York through the GA website.

Gaming Regulator Information

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) is the body that licenses and regulates online sportsbooks in the Empire State. They oversee the sites and make sure they are fair for players and safe to play at. Here are the things the gaming regulator ensures for all New York online gaming sites:

• Fairness – The NYSGC makes sure that the New York sites are run in a fair manner by overseeing payment practices, testing of the technology used to offer games, and ensuring advertising is honest and not misleading. Before granting a license they also make sure that the site is financially viable and stable.
• Accountability – The NYSGC also acts as a mediator between players and the platforms if there is any dispute between the two. If there is an issue a user can file a dispute claim on the NYSGC website, and they will take care of the matter in a timely manner.
• Responsible Gaming – One of the stipulations about getting a license for a New York gaming site is giving players tools for responsible gaming. They have to have tools for limiting deposits, bets, and time spent playing on the site and also will have information in terms of problem gambling services.
• Community Benefits – The sites that carry a NYSGC will pay appropriate taxes to help the community. The taxes that come from gaming will fund improvements to the community, education, and services to help problem gamblers.

History of New York Online Gambling Legislation

In 2019 the New York Legislature legalized retail sports betting, and then in April of 2021, online sports betting became legal when Gov. Cuomo signed the state budget into law. In November of 2021, the NYSGC chose nine operators to allow for mobile wagering. The first legal online bet was made in the Empire State on January 8, 2022.

There have been talks about legislation to legalize online casino gambling in the state, but nothing is official. However, it may not be long for that to change, as New York sees all the tax dollars that neighboring states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania are getting with the legalization of online casino gambling.

To top it off, a significant portion of the tax dollars for those two states come from New Yorkers, who cross the borders to play at their legal online casinos.

In terms of online poker, New York has a long history of trying to make the games legal based on the amount of skill involved in the game.

In 2016, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law the measure that legalized betting on daily fantasy sports (DFS). Horse racing has been legal in New York since 1908. Pari-mutuel betting on horse races became legal in 2014.

There are currently around 30 land-based casinos in the state, and they are either state-licensed casinos or tribal casinos.

New York Licensed Casinos

• Aqueduct Racetrack, 110-00 Rockaway Boulevard, South Ozone Park, NY 11420, (718) 641-4700
• Batavia Downs Gaming, 8315 Park Road, Batavia, NY 14020, (585) 343-3750
• Belmont Park Race Track, Club House Lobby, Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont, NY 11003, (516) 488-1920
• Buffalo Raceway, 5600 McKinley Parkway, Hamburg, NY 14075, (716) 649-1280
• Empire City Casino, 810 Yonkers Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10704, (914) 968-4200
• Finger Lakes Gaming & Race Track, 5857 State Route 96, Farmington, NY 14425, (585) 924-3232
• Hamburg Gaming, Buffalo Raceway at the Fairgrounds, 5820 South Park Ave, Hamburg, NY 14075, (716) 646-6109
• Jake’s 58 Hotel & Casino, 3635 Express Drive North, Islandia, NY 11749, (631) 232-3000
• Del Lago Resort and Casino, Exit 41 New York State Thruway, Waterloo, NY 13148
• Resorts World Casino, 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11420, 888-888-8801
• Vernon Downs, 4229 Stuhlman Road, Vernon, NY 13476, (877) 888-3766
• Resorts World Catskills, Kiamesha Lake, Town of Thompson, NY
• Tioga Downs Casino Resort, 2384 West River Road, Nichols, NY 13812, (607) 699-3901
• Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady, 1 Rush Street, Schenectady, NY 12305
• Saratoga Casino Hotel, 342 Jefferson Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, (518) 584-2110
• Monticello Casino and Raceway, 204 Route 17B, Monticello, NY 12701, 845-794-4100, 866-777-GAME

Tribal Casinos

• Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort 873 State Route 37, Hogansburg, New York 13655 877-992-2746, 877-99-CASINO, 888-622-1155 Canada
• Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, 1 Fulton Street, Buffalo, NY 14204, (716) 299-1100
• LakeSide Entertainment 1, 271 Cayuga St, Union Springs, NY 13160, (315) 889-5416
• Point Place Casino, 450-452 NY-31, Bridgeport, NY 13030, (315) 366-9610
• Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel, 777 Seneca Allegany Boulevard, Salamanca, New York 14779, (716) 945-3200, (877) 553-9500
• Seneca Gaming & Entertainment Allegany, 768 Broad Street, Salamanca, New York 14779-1331, (716) 945-4080, (877) 860-5130
• Seneca Gaming & Entertainment Cattaraugus, 11099 Route 5, Irving, New York 14081-9566, (716) 549-4389, (800) 421-2464
• Seneca Gaming & Entertainment Oil Spring, 5374 West Shore Road, Cuba, NY 14727
• Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, 310 Fourth Street, Niagara Falls, New York 14303, (716) 299-1100, (877) 873-6322
• Shinnecock-Hard Rock Casino Project, Southampton, Suffolk County, NY
• Turning Stone Casino Resort, 5218 Patrick Road, Verona, New York 13478-3012, (315) 361-7711, (800) 771-7711
• The Lake House at Sylvan Beach, 301 Park Ave, Sylvan Beach, NY 13157
• The Inn at Turning Stone, P.O. Box 126, Verona, NY 13478, (315) 361-7750
• Yellow Brick Road Casino, 800 W Genesee Street, Chittenango, New York 13037, (315) 366-9400

NY Land-based Sportsbooks

• Akwesasne Mohawk Casino & Resort (Sticks Sports Book & Grill)
• Del Lago Resort Casino (DraftKings)
• Point Place Casino (The Lounge with Caesars Sports)
• Resorts World Catskills (Sportsbook 360)
• Rivers Casino & Resort (Rivers)
• Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino (Sports Lounge)
• Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino (Sports Lounge)
• Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino (Sports Lounge)
• Tioga Downs (FanDuel)
• Turning Stone Resort Casino (Caesars)
• Yellow Brick Road Casino (Caesars)

FAQ

Is online gambling legal in New York?

Yes, online sports betting, horse racing, and DFS are legal in the Empire State.

Since online casino and poker are not legal in New York, is choosing an illegal offshore site safe?

No, offshore sites may have a license but they still are not held to the strict regulations of a state recognized gaming body. For that reason, they are not safe to play at like state licensed and regulated sites, and players are at risk of being cheated and losing money if they play on offshore sites.

What are the risks of playing at an illegal offshore online sports betting site?

There are plenty. Offshore sites often us unfair business practices to prevent having to pay winning players. They are also known to pay out winnings slowly to encourage the player to bet more and eventually lose back all of their winnings.

On top of that, there is the problem of identity theft and the saftey of your banking information at offshore casinos, as they do not have the security measures in place like state licensed and regulated sites do.

Can I bet at legal US sportsbooks using cryptocurrencies?

No, legal US sportsbooks do not accept cryptocurrencies.

Where can I get the latest news about online sports betting in New York?

You can find the latest news about online sports betting in New York by checking out USGamingReview.com/news/.