Nine sportsbooks were awarded with licenses, with big names like Penn/Barstool and Fanatics intriguingly left on the outside looking in.
Mobile sports betting was already legal in the state of New York after being passed by the state legislature in April and subsequently signed into law, though the necessary infrastructure and all manner of bureaucratic red tape still needed to be squared away. But on Monday, we finally learned precisely which sportsbooks earned the much-sought-after licenses the Empire State placed up for grabs.
The New York State Gaming Commission approved nine betting operators to receive 10-year mobile gambling licenses, Confirming a story first reported by the New York Post.
The nine New York sportsbook licensees in alphabetical order are:
- Bally Bet
- BetMGM (owned by Entain Plc)
- BetRivers + SugarHouse (both owned by Rush Street Interactive)
- Caesars
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- PointsBet
- Resorts World
- WynnBET
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In the past, New Yorkers could only gamble inside state lines at in-person casinos. Now, the floodgates are about to open in one of the country’s most populous (and wealthy) states — and they’re likely to do so in ways that make neighboring New Jersey’s admittedly impressive numbers seem quaint by comparison.
Notably, the state of New York is implementing its mobile sports gambling operation differently than other states. The two major points here:
- New York will tax these sportsbooks at a rate of 51%, the highest in the nation among states with multiple licensed operators.
- The licensees submitted proposals as part of broader consortiums of multiple sportsbooks, with two ultimately selected:
- One includes Bally Bet, BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings.
- The other includes, BetRivers/SugarHouse, Caesars, PointsBet, Resorts World, and WynnBET. Betting data and technology company Kambi will also provide support the consortium’s efforts.
But of course, with every competitive triumph, there’s at least one who had to come up short. Amid such a flurry of mobile betting hopefuls in the Empire State, a number of notable sportsbooks were not awarded with licenses, including Barstool owner Penn National Gaming and Fanatics, who put forth a joint bid with an assist from Jay-Z.
FOX Bet, Bet365, and theScore Bet all submitted individual bids, none of which were approved by New York’s Gaming Commission.
As the Wall Street Journal notes, sports betting in New York is expected to generate nearly $500 million per year in tax revenue.
