Now you can use your phone to bet on sports if you live in New York. CNBC reports the state legalized mobile sports betting as of January 8th. Several companies are already accepting bets starting at 9 am East, including Draft Kings, FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook and Rush Street Interactive. Five other companies (including BetMGM and WynnBet) have licenses but have not yet met the legal requirements.
The shift came after former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo changed his mind about online sports betting. He saw it as an opportunity to keep more tax revenue and make the state the biggest betting market in the US. New Jersey currently dominates American online gaming, with research firm Eilers & Krejcik noting that about a fifth of all revenue comes from the state.
Any success may take a while, however. New York’s 51 percent tax rate on gambling revenue is much steeper than New Jersey’s 13 percent, and that could prevent the Empire State from claiming the lead for years. Still, this could be an important turning point – New York is clearly large and influential, and the result of its efforts could influence positions on mobile betting in states where the practice remains illegal.
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