New York Sports Betting Launches This Saturday!

New York sports betting has been hyped up for a long time, and it’s no wonder why. Considering the landscape of sports betting in the Empire State, with a massive population and plenty of popular sports teams, New York’s potential for sports wagering should bring in tons of tax revenue for the state. And, with a 51% tax rate for sportsbooks, the highest in the U.S. by a wide margin, it’s going to be a major benefit upon launch. But when exactly will New York sports wagering become a reality? We have a date, and it’s much sooner than you think. Let’s check out the date that New York sports bettors should be circling on their calendars.

Four New York Sportsbooks Launching This Saturday

We’ve known for a while that sportsbooks would be live in New York before Super Bowl LVI on February 13th, 2022. Well, at least four different platforms will be available this Saturday morning. According to David Purdum, a writer for ESPN Chalk, DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook, FanDuel, and Rush Interactive will all be ready to roll out on Saturday, January 8th, at 9 a.m. EST.

Sports bettors in New York have been eagerly awaiting this news for months. The most recent step towards legal sports betting happened on November 8th, 2021, when two bids were approved by primary applicants Kambi and FanDuel Sportsbook. The FanDuel bid promised to bring FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings to the state while the Kambi bid would have Rush Street Interactive and Caesars Sportsbook. However, there are still a few more sports betting platforms that won’t be available on Saturday that were also included in those bids.

What Sportsbooks Won’t Be Live on Saturday?

While the aforementioned four sports betting platforms will get the green light on Saturday, what about the rest of the potential New York sportsbooks? Kambi’s bid also included WynnBET, PointsBet, and Resorts World, while FanDuel’s bid would also bring the launch of BetMGM and BallyBet. Well, those remaining platforms will still need to satisfy certain requirements needed for launching and operation in the state. We’ll make sure to keep you updated on the releases of the remaining five sportsbooks.

How Else Can You Bet on Sports in New York?

During the long wait for the release of these sportsbooks, New Yorkers have been able to use a different, more classic method of sports betting: physical sportsbooks. New York sports wagering was legalized all the way back in 2018 after all, you just couldn’t use any mobile methods of betting. Several upstate casinos have been taking wagers in the meantime, which has seen some popularity in the absence of online wagering in the Empire State.

Some of the most popular sports betting casinos in the state include Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, Del Lago Resort and Casino in Waterloo, and Tioga Downs and Casino in Nichols. It will be interesting to see how these physical casinos, as well as the many others in the area, see sports betting action come in as the New York betting landscape drastically changes.