Mobile sports betting in review
N.Y. Gaming Commission expected to award licenses Dec. 6, launch likely in ’22
With every ad for Caesars Sportsbook that airs between beer and truck commercials during football games, the question looms ever larger: When will New Yorkers be able to bet on games from their phones?
The exact date is unknown, but the hope is that mobile sports betting, which was legalized last spring, will be ready in time for the Super Bowl.
“There’s an effort being made to have this all done so it will be operative by Super Bowl-time,” said state Sen. Daphne Jordan, the ranking member on the Senate Gaming Committee.
The state Gaming Commission is expected to pick who will receive licenses by Dec. 6, and award them at the commission’s next meeting.
After that, it will likely be another 90-120 days before the actual launch, according to Becca Gidden, director of policy for Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, a research and consulting firm. New York will need to issue ancillary licenses, for example to vendors who provide geolocation services to make sure that revenue from bets placed in New York stays in New York. The mobile betting apps will also need to undergo testing.
“I think our official estimate is that if they do award licenses on Dec. 6, we should see a launch sometime before the end of the first quarter of 2022,” Gidden said.
Applications for licenses were due to the Gaming Commission over the summer, and the Commission released a list of applicants in September. Five platform providers submitted bids: Fanduel Sportsbook, Kambi Group, bet365, FOX Bet and thescore Bet. Fanduel and Kambi Group both submitted applications for multiple operators.
Fanduel submitted a bid with Draftkings Sportsbook, BETMGM, Fanduel Sportsbook and Bally Bet.
Kambi Group submitted one application with Caesars Sportsbook, Resorts World, Pointsbet, Rush Street Interactive and WYNNBET, and another with Fanatics Sportsbook and Barstool Sportsbook.
New York will award at least two licenses to platform providers and four to operators.
Each application is graded according to a rubric, with technical factors, including market expertise, platform integrity, advertising and promotional plans and efforts to foster diversity in the workforce accounting for most of the points.
Applicants are also awarded points based on their proposed taxation rate, with higher rates garnering more points.
Through August 2021, 86 percent of the U.S. sports betting handle has been online, generating $2.3 billion in revenue nationwide, according to Jessica Feil, vice president of the American Gaming Association. In New Jersey, 91 percent of wagers are placed from mobile; in Pennsylvania, it’s 92 percent.
But the data indicates “that mobile does not take away from retail business, and in a lot of cases actually adds to the retail and the business,” Gidden said.
Rivers Casino general manager
Rick Richards isn’t worried that mobile sports betting will damage their business model because a casino can provide amenities, like large TVS, food and drink, and crowds, that aren’t available elsewhere.
“I still think that most of the people like to be excited about putting a bet on a game, but they like to watch it with people,” he said.
With the increased opportunities for gambling comes an increase in problem gambling, defined by the National Council on Problem Gambling as “all gambling behavior patterns that compromise, disrupt or damage personal, family or vocational pursuits.”
That’s been recorded in other states where mobile sports betting is legal, according to an email from Michelle Hadden of the New York Council on Problem Gambling. Hadden said the Council is also concerned about increased gambling activity in vulnerable populations and youth.
The state should require the industry to have daily deposit limits and other ways to encourage players to take breaks and set limits, Hadden said.