New York mobile sports betting debuts with 17.2M bets in two days, "historically unprecedented" launch

The long-awaited New York online and mobile sports betting market debuted Saturday morning with Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel and Rush Street Interactive's BetRivers. Official numbers are not available yet, but GeoComply's weekend geolocation volumes for the state totaled 17.2 million.

Volumes from New York City's boroughs alone exceeded 8 million, larger than any other standalone state total within the US, according to Lindsay Slader, Managing Director - Gaming at GeoComply. "In just 12 hours, New York has become the top state for sports betting in the US. A launch this size is historically unprecedented, with volumes eclipsing the second closest ranked state, PA, by approx 2.5 times."

The first 36 hours of #SportsBetting in New York was LEGENDARY. In total, NY saw over 17M checks for their first weekend.

Check out this video of #geolocation volume! pic.twitter.com/FylPc2BpUQ

— GeoComply (@GeoComply) January 10, 2022

The first bets were placed at 9:01 a.m., a minute after the four casino operators opened for action. No data was given out by the casinos on how much money was won or lost on sports in New York Saturday, New York Post reports. The state Gaming Commission said it will release data on betting volume monthly.

There’s a new king in town 👑 🏙

DraftKings Sportsbook is LIVE in New York! pic.twitter.com/n8y5kL94UG

— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) January 8, 2022

However, on the first day of legal online sports bets, some issues were reported by bettors. The Caesars Sportsbook app and website went offline for almost three hours Saturday, as reported by CBSNewYork. 

"Today is a historic day for not only Caesars Sportsbook, but for the entire state of New York," Chris Holdren, Co-President of Caesars Digital, said in a press release. "We're ready to treat sports fans across the state of New York like royalty through our Caesars Sportsbook app as we welcome them into the Caesars Empire, extend our already established roots and continue to build partnerships that benefit our bettors."

Caesars has signed a deal for New York Rangers National Hockey League (NHL) legendary goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to become an official ambassador for the Caesars Sportsbook brand in New York.

Happy to join the @CaesarsSports family and excited to welcome #caesarssportsbook to New York 🗽😎 pic.twitter.com/w1IWOz66hV

— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) January 8, 2022

As an ambassador, Lundqvist will participate in a range of fan engagement opportunities made possible through the Caesars Rewards loyalty program, which will be extended to players in New York, thus becoming the only app in the state to reward sports bettors with every bet they place. In New York specifically, sports bettors can enjoy VIP experiences with the New York Knicks and New York Rangers on behalf of the newly established partnership with Madison Square Garden and MSG Networks.

Whether you're in Times Square like @seeley_nigel, Upstate, Buffalo, on the Island, or anywhere in-between...

We are 𝕃𝕀𝕍𝔼 right now in the great state of New York!

▶️ https://t.co/gtFBhqz4mg pic.twitter.com/dh82CT4VDR

— BetRivers (@BetRivers) January 8, 2022

BetRivers reported $970,381 was bet Saturday with its sportsbook in New York. Football accounted for $500,231 of the amount wagered, followed by basketball with $271,281.

Also, OpenBet announced that it has successfully deployed its mobile sports betting technology in New York for its long-term partner, FanDuel, on day one of the newly-regulated market opening.  

The New York State Gaming Commission said Thursday that the remaining five conditionally licensed operators (PointsBet, BetMGM, Resorts World, BallyBet, WynnBet) "continue to work towards satisfying statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to launch and will be approved on a rolling basis when requirements are met."

Furthermore, FansUnite Entertainment announced Monday that the company's American Affiliate division (AmAff) is now authorized in the State of New York to provide customer acquisition services for licensed sports betting operators.

"American Affiliate is uniquely well-positioned to help our sportsbook partners achieve their primary goal: securing market share in the largest online sports betting market in the U.S.," said Chris Grove, Chief Executive Officer of American Affiliate. "We look forward to realizing the growth potential from bringing our market-leading range of digital and retail activation assets to New York."

Betting Hero will kick off AmAff's retail efforts with live activation for sportsbook partners at Madison Square Garden for Wednesday night's (January 12, 2022) Knicks/Mavericks game.

"We have been preparing for the launch of New York since early 2021, laying the vital groundwork to ensure we successfully build on our position as the #1 live activation company in the industry nationwide," said Jai Maw, President of the Betting Hero brand. "With the support of many of our key partners, we will be helping New Yorkers enjoy their experience betting on mobile on day one just as we have in every legal state since 2018."

AmAff will also be turning on its marquee digital brands, including Props.com, Wagers.com, and BetPrep.com, with the goal of engaging and capturing a share of the millions of existing and potential sports bettors in New York State.

According to projections from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, New York is poised to become the largest active market for online sports betting in the United States, generating over a billion dollars in annual revenue at maturity.