New York’s sports gambling market is now live

Rivers Casino in Schenectady has launched the first sportsbook in the state

New Yorkers can officially – and legally – place sports wagers. New York State’s sports gambling industry has gone live with the launch of the first sportsbook in the state, located at Rivers Casino in Schenectady. Rivers is only the first, but certainly won’t be the last, as other casinos are going to begin offering sports gambling within the next couple of weeks.

Currently, only in-person wagers are allowed at the four upstate casinos that have been authorized for sports gambling, as well as tribal venues. Rivers was always considered to be the first to step into the space, given its strong relationships with SugarHouse Sportsbook and BetRivers Sportsbook in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively.

Tioga Downs is expected to launch its sportsbook next, with other properties to follow ahead of the upcoming NFL season that gets underway September 5. The tribal casinos have been working with Caesars to try to put a plan into action and they have apparently made considerable progress with that goal.

Placing the first bet at Rivers was the man who made one of the biggest pushes for legalize sports gambling in New York, Assemblyman Gary Pretlow. He stated as he made his wager, Right now, Jersey is cleaning our clock when it comes to sports betting. We’re a little bit behind.”

New York has now become the ninth state to offer legalized sports gambling, but it certainly isn’t the last. Almost half of the states are said to be considering some type of sports gambling legislation and others have passed laws to allow the activity, but are waiting for the final touches to be in place before the sportsbooks are launched. Overall, within the next five years, over half of all Americans will be living in areas that offer legalized sportsbooks.