Yes, Online Sports Betting Is Coming to New York … Soon!

• New York’s online sports-betting industry didn’t get off the ground in 2021 as many had hoped
• Rest assured, if you live in New York, you will be able to place online bets in the very near future
• See the latest updates on the launch date and which events New Yorkers should be able to place online wagers on

It’s no secret that many in the Empire State were hoping to see legal online betting become a reality in New York in the 2021 calendar year.

That didn’t happen.

But the finish line is in sight – tantalizingly close, in fact – and it’s not an optical illusion. Online sports betting will be a reality in New York in a matter of weeks.

Sportsbooks Are Putting the Final Pieces in Place

A lot goes into starting and operating an online sportsbook. It takes a massive amount of person-power and technological power.

The sportsbooks that have been approved in New York are established entities that have the institutional knowledge to make a seamless start. But that’s not the whole story. There are strict legal and regulatory requirements that the sportsbooks need to comply with.

One of those requirements is that the servers for each sportsbook must be housed in one of New York’s existing casinos. As PlayUSA reported, that has been a significant impediment to getting online betting off the ground in New York. The sportsbooks and the casinos have to form their own agreements about compensation, and that hasn’t been a quick nor easy process.

When Is Online Betting Actually Going to Start?

It still isn’t possible to pinpoint a precise date. There are still too many moving pieces and too many question marks.

The most that authorities have been able to say is that online betting should start in the second or third week of January.

In the month of January, in particular, that is a big range. “Second or third week” could mean online betting will start in time for the entirety of the NFL playoffs or only be available for three games (the conference championships and the Super Bowl).

The first game of the 2022 NFL playoffs is scheduled for Saturday, January 15th, technically the third week of January.

But January 15th is 13 days from now and only a scant 10 business days. With so many lingering unknowns, it would be optimistic to think New Yorkers will be wagering on Wild-Card Weekend.

If the launch date is the following Friday, New Yorkers would be able to bet on all the games in the Divisional Round, Conference Championships, and Super Bowl (in other words, the final seven games of the 2021-22 NFL season).

2022 NFL Playoff Schedule

Football Isn’t the Only Sport in New York

The NFL is king when it comes to sports betting. The NFL betting handle dwarfs every other league, year after year.  New York will be no different when it’s online-betting industry is active.

That said, between the NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS, New York is home to nine other major-league teams, and five will be playing in the month of January: the Brooklyn Nets, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, New York Knicks, and New York Rangers.

The New York Red Bulls and NYCFC will start the next MLS campaign on Feb. 26th, while the New York Mets and New York Yankees will start the 2022 MLB season on March 31st.