New York picks 9 vendors for lucrative mobile sports betting

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s gaming commission on Monday picked 9 operators, including DraftKings and FanDuel Sportsbook, to offer mobile sports betting, opening up what is anticipated to be a highly lucrative market, possibly in time for the Super Bowl.

The operators also include BallyBet, BetMGM, Rush Street Interactive, Caesars Sportsbook, Wynn Interactive, Resorts World and PointsBet.

State elected officials in April had passed approval for mobile sports betting, and a call for proposals had been issued over the summer. At the time of approval, officials estimated that allowing online betting could bring in up to $500 million in tax revenue annually.

In a statement after Monday’s vote, state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Jr., who had pushed for the approval, said, “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.”

He said it was important to get the necessary infrastructure in place to allow mobile betting to be ready to go in January for the upcoming Super Bowl.

Mobile betting operators will have to pay 51% of their revenue to the state, but even with that, the anticipation for being able to operate in New York has been high, given the size of the state population, income levels and the number of sports teams.

The reaction from vendors was enthusiastic.

“We’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to bring mobile sports betting to New York. With more than 19 million people, New York will be the biggest mobile sports betting market in the country,” Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, said in a statement.

Johnny Aitken, CEO of PointsBet USA, said in a statement, “Having the potential to secure market access to New York state – expected to be one of the largest and most important markets in the United States – represents another major milestone for our company, our brand, and our technology.”

The operators will have to put their servers for mobile betting at one of the the state’s four licensed casinos, which previously were the only places people could go to make bets on sports. Once the servers are in place, mobile betting can begin.