Contact The Author Wanna bet? Well, put your money where your phone is. Mobile or online sports bets can be placed in New York as early as Saturday, the state Gaming Commission announced Thursday. That means bettors could place wagers for the last week of regular season games for the National Football League and certainly for the upcoming playoffs and Super Bowl — the biggest American sporting event. The Gaming Commission said four licensed Mobile Sports Wagering Operators — Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive — have been approved to accept sports bets after 9 a.m. Saturday. “After that effective date, each licensee (Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive) will determine when to accept wagers, based upon its business capabilities and readiness,” the Gaming Commission said in a release. Caesars has bankrolled a TV ad blitz to alert New Yorkers it’s primed to play mobile sports bookie. New York expects $10 billion in sports betting next year, with the nearly $1 billion in expected profits split between the state and the operators. see also New York has already received $200 million in license fees from mobile sports operators and the companies have agreed to pay a 51 percent tax on gross revenues — a split that far outpaces the take in most states where online sports betting is legal. Proponents of mobile sports betting said they’re thrilled New York will have the program up and running well before the Super Bowl. In New York state, gamblers can only place wagers at upstate casinos, an inconvenient trek for many downstate residents. Many city residents simply set up mobile accounts and cross the Hudson to place phone bets in neighboring New Jersey. “This is great timing. It’s a win for the state of New York,” said state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Queens), chairman of the Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee. “Mobile sports betting will generate additional revenue for the state including for education and it will create jobs.” He also said there will be $6 million in annual funding for gambling addiction programs. “This is good news. It’s definitely good timing. We said we wanted mobile sports betting to start before the Super Bowl. We’re ahead of schedule,” said Assembly Gaming and Wagering Committee Chairman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon).
