New York online sports betting

When the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was deemed unconstitutional in 2018, New York was in a perfect position to start sports betting in the state.

It had passed legislation five years previously that made New York sports betting legal as soon as the federal government eased its restrictions. That duly happened when PASPA was struck down.

However, when sports betting got under way, in 2019, it was only in a handful of upstate casinos.

There were repeated efforts to legalize New York online sports betting, but it was not until 2021 that they achieved irresistible momentum.

In a state of 20 million people and a huge sporting heritage, the opportunities presented by New York online sports betting were obvious to all. This could potentially be the biggest sports betting market in the US.

But it was only in 2021 that state Governor Andrew Cuomo signaled his willingness to include mobile wagering in the state’s budget.

Possibly motivated by the post-Covid state budget deficit, Cuomo abandoned his preference for a lottery-based model. Legislators pushed forward with efforts to create a market where commercial sportsbooks could roam free.

When the state budget bill was passed, Cuomo duly signed online sports betting into law.

Nine licenses were issued to leading sportsbooks, with the expectation that they would go live during 2022. In the event, only eight days of the year had passed before New York online betting had lift-off.

The first four operators – DraftKings, Caesars and BetRivers – went live on January 8. They were followed shortly by BetMGM and PointsBet, with other sportsbooks expected to go live on a rolling basis thereafter.

The results were sensational. The operators reported a handle of $1.176billion and revenue of $91.4millon in the first 16 days.

This is particularly good news for the state, which imposed a tax rate of 51 per cent on revenue.

New York is certain to see ferocious competition for custom. The operators, many of whom offered juicy and costly (to them) sign-up offers, may have to battle away for some time before the state is a true money-spinner for them.

Yes, they are. Whenever you have a winning sports bet, you should make a note of it and be ready to include it on your tax return.

When it comes to sports betting, any winnings over $600 – and that’s in total through the year – will be liable for tax.

The casino where you do your betting should hand you a W-2G form every time you gamble there. Another copy goes to the IRS, so you’ll need to make sure your records tally with Uncle Sam’s.

If you want to place a sports bet in New York, you need to be aged 21 or older.

One of the strict conditions of mobile betting in New York is that you must be located within state lines before you can place a wager.

Modern sportsbooks use sophisticated geo-location technology to enforce this ruling.

But at least mobile bettors no longer need to pop across the border into neighboring states such as New Jersey – where online betting has been legal for some time – to place a bet on their device.

The other option for sports betting in New York is to visit one of the upstate casinos licensed to take wagers.

Betting on college teams based in the state of New York is not allowed under current legislation – whether they are playing at home or away. That means you can’t wager on the plethora of top-class NCAA action featuring the best New York college athletes.

You can’t place a bet on politics, US or overseas. All American sportsbooks are banned from running markets on elections and other political events.