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State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach), chairman of the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering.
By Michael V. Cusenza
While a date hasn’t been set, State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) recently said mobile sports betting will launch in New York in January 2022.
“The servers for the sportsbooks that had to be put on the land based casinos with the licenses are almost ready,” Addabbo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, told The Action Network on Tuesday.
The South Queens senator, who has been working on bringing mobile sports wagering to the Empire State for years, previously pointed to a mid-January launch date.
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Senator Addabbo said that mobile sportsbooks should launch in New York before month’s end.
“I remain hopeful that New Yorkers will finally be able to partake in mobile sports betting around mid-January,” Addabbo said in a text to NY Sportsday. “And given the growing anticipation along with New York’s stature in global sports, I believe with a premier product we have great potential to realize huge advances in revenue, educational resources, jobs, and new gaming addiction funding. The State Legislature should stand ready to evaluate New York’s mobile sports betting product and make improvements if necessary such as possibly incorporating fixed-odds horse racing with the mobile sports platform.”
In November, the State Gaming Commission named the nine NY mobile sports wagering licensees:
- Bally Bet
- BetMGM
- Caesars Sportsbook
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- PointsBet
- Resorts World Bet
- Rush Street Interactive
- WynnBET
“With New York moving closer to the goal line to witness its first mobile sports bet, we must remain focused on providing a premier product and giving New Yorkers the best mobile sports betting options in order to effectively compete with neighboring states like New Jersey,” Addabbo said in a statement released on the same November day that the Gaming Commission announced the licensees. “I am confident that with the announced, credible winning bids, we have the potential of eclipsing other states in mobile sports betting handle, raise significant revenues and funding for education and youth sports, while effectively addressing the problem gaming issue. Of utmost importance remains the timeframe for the servers that validate the mobile bets to be up and running, ready to take New York’s first mobile sports bets in January and in time for the 2022 Super Bowl.”
