Recently, New York State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. has provided his verdict on when mobile sports betting will be up and running in the Empire State. He says that there is still a chance for the gambling expansion to arrive this month, however, the realistic timeframe for the long-awaited launch is set for early January 2022.
State legislators have opted to introduce online sports betting as a way to deliver more revenue for the budget as well as provide more variety for gamblers and sports fans. In November, the New York State Gaming Commission has selected eight platform providers and nine gambling operators for the digitalization, however, there are still some details to iron out before the official launch.
January More Realistic
Last week, Senator Addabbo Jr. addressed the rumors that the launch of mobile sports betting could arrive this month. He said that despite being optimistic, he believes that the realistic date remains in early January. According to him, it will be good to launch the new regime, before the next Super Bowl, so all glitches can be cleared before the biggest sporting event.
He noted that mobile sports betting performance during the upcoming Super Bowl, scheduled for February 13, 2021, will be the benchmark for the expansion. He also says that glitches and errors are inevitable but he is hopeful that all will be sorted out before the Super Bowl. Mr. Addabbo shared that he also proposed to have a uniform start date for all nine operators.
The Senator continued by explaining that a uniform start would be a better way for the official launch instead of every operator launching at one date and another kicking it off a few days later. He believes that a joint launch would better benefit New Yorkers, and he says that he is hopeful that all operators will be able to agree and start on the same date.
Currently, the New York State Gaming Commission is in discussions with the selected sports betting operators for the servers of the new offering. The negotiations are in regards to which casinos will host which servers, and the development of the server rooms is currently in progress. Mr. Addabbo says that the construction and programming of servers have also started.
The Nine Operators
As already mentioned in November the New York State Gaming Commission has selected a total of nine gaming operators for the state’s new online sports betting framework. The nine licensees are divided into two bids, and the first one consists of Bally Bet, BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel. The other is compiled of Kambi and consists of Caesars Sportsbook, PointsBet, Resorts World, Rush Street Interactive, and WynnBET.
At the end of November, another hurdle for the launch of mobile sports betting was cleared by the state. Then, the New York State Register published a newsletter in which the entity officially recognized the rules for the online wagering expansion of sports betting, and has even has introduced some regulations which will come into play once the offering starts.
