New York moves closer to the start of online sports betting with the release of mobile rules

Retail sports betting already takes place in New York at upstate casinos, but online betting has yet to legally kick off, leading some state residents to travel to the Connecticut or New Jersey to access their sportsbooks.

New York has crossed another item off its online sports betting to-do list, holding out hope that legal mobile betting will begin in the state by the Super Bowl.

A notice of adoption of the mobile sports betting rules was posted Wednesday in the New York State Register, an official, weekly update of regulatory activity.

This step is required by New York law, but it ticks one more box as the state moves toward the official launch of online sports betting.

The amended and added regulations will also allow the New York State Gaming Commission “to prescribe the rules for mobile sports betting via servers located in casinos and improve the regulation of sports betting in casinos. “in view of recent changes to gambling law, the notice states.

Winners and losers

Retail sports betting already takes place in New York at upstate casinos. However, online betting has yet to begin legally, leading some state residents to travel to Connecticut or New Jersey to access sports betting there.

New York lawmakers got the ball rolling on online sports betting with budget legislation that passed in April and required the Gaming Commission to license at least two mobile sports betting platform providers that would host at least four sportsbooks.

The commission then approved 10-year licenses at a Nov. 8 meeting for two groups whose sports betting revenue would be subject to a 51% tax rate, one of the highest in the country. The first group includes Bally Bet, BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel, while the other includes Caesars Sportsbook, WynnBET, PointsBet and Rush Street Interactive, owner of BetRivers.

Commissioners were told at the meeting that recommended bidders would be conditionally cleared if regulators adopted the proposed rules for mobile betting. These rules were then adopted by the commission, hence the notice in the national register.

“It will be under the control of the recommended bidders when they become operational and thus come to market,” said Robert Williams, executive director of the commission.

The details

New York’s chosen sports betting platforms still need to ensure that several regulatory and technical requirements are met before they can go live in the state with legal sports betting.

These tasks range from finding a casino in the state to host their servers, to getting an independent lab to test and approve their geolocation software, to paying their one-time $25 million license fee. of dollars.

Online sports betting rules in New York state that players must be 21 years of age or older and that there are publicly accessible internet pages for responsible gambling. Nor will betting be permitted on any game involving a New York University team.

Another rule is that an online sports betting operator must submit all their promotions for approval at least 15 days before they start operating. The notice in the state registry included commentary on the rules and said DraftKings had suggested that the need to submit a promotion be limited to news only. Regulators rejected the request.

“The Commission disagrees because requiring all promotions to be submitted improves regulatory scrutiny and best protects consumers,” the notice said.