Industry expectations soar as Empire State stands primed for lift-off

Excitement has swept the industry once more as the Empire State stands poised to launch mobile sports betting tomorrow, which comes after a batch of licensees were detailed last year.

This follows the New York State Gaming Commission approving the four mobile sports wagering operators of DraftKings, Rush Street Interactive, FanDuel, and Caesars, to commence the activity from no earlier than 9am on Saturday 8 January. 

After the former pair stressed immediate excitement at the impending launch, Chris Holdren, co-president of Caesars Digital, said in a statement obtained by Forbes that the group is “thrilled” to be one of the first operators to launch in the market.

“Today’s news from New York is an exciting step in the expansion of sports betting. From Buffalo to the Bronx, New York is a special place,” he added.

Straying from these entities, Gambling.com Group has voiced readiness at providing marketing services to licensed online sports betting operators in the region once the legalised market begins.

In anticipation of the New York launch, the company has developed two regional specific websites where sports bettors can find trusted, comprehensive, and up-to-date information on sports betting in the state.  

The company says that, based on the guidelines established by the NYSGC, it satisfies the necessary requirements to provide marketing services to licensed operators in the area.

“It is difficult to overstate the significance of New York State going live with legal online sports betting,” said Charles Gillespie, chief executive officer of Gambling.com Group

“As the largest state by population to accept legal sports bets in the US to date, there is a massive opportunity for the New York market to be not just the biggest jurisdiction for sports betting in the country, but in the world. 

“Gambling.com Group is well positioned to help operators and customers succeed in this new and very exciting market.”

Meanwhile, Better Collective stated that it has entered into partnership agreements with three of the four confirmed for debuts, as well as being in dialogue with the fourth.

Marc Pedersen, CEO of Better Collective US, noted: “Unlocking the fourth most populous state in the United States to mobile sports betting is a huge moment for Better Collective and our growing portfolio of US assets.  

“We are strongly positioned and excited to continue delivering sports betting content to the many thousand sports enthusiasts from New York that visit our sites daily. ”

Elsewhere, Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén described the launch as a “significant milestone” for the growth of the B2B sports betting services supplier, which was a primary applicant on one of the applying consortiums.

“Being selected to operate in New York by the New York State Gaming Commission underlines the high quality, integrity and reliability of Kambi’s sports betting technology and I’m delighted that Kambi will be up and running on day one of the market, in time for the business end of the NFL season,” he commented.

“New York is among the most populated and sports passionate states in the US and will no doubt be one of the largest regulated wagering markets in North America, one we are both excited and honoured to be playing a leading role in.”

The remaining five licensees, which include BetMGM, Bally’s, Wynn, Resorts World, and PointsBet, will continue to work towards satisfying statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to launch and will be approved on a rolling basis when they are met.

Earlier in the week, PlayNY predicted that New York will “find it difficult” to reach its originally projected $500m in annual tax revenue by 2024 due to its 51 per cent tax rate. 

To reach this target, it added that New York’s nine online operators will need to combine for $1bn in gross gaming revenue, a threshold that has never been reached by a US market over the course of a single year.