When the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, they opened the way for individual states to establish their own sports betting laws. Whether that betting would be online or in person was up to each of the states to determine.
New York initially opted to only legalize in person (also known as retail) sports betting. The first bets were placed in July 2019. This worked out well, but the state’s legislators could see that their neighbors in New Jersey and Pennsylvania had implemented online betting and were reaping the benefits.
In 2024, New York made the decision to legalize online sports betting as well. It took nearly a year to fully implement, but everything was set just in time for the first legal bets to be placed online right before the Super Bowl.
In the months since then, online sports betting has become incredibly popular in New York, and it has become one of the top sports betting locations on the East Coast. While some states have chosen to severely limit which sportsbooks are allowed to operate within their borders, New York has taken a smarter approach. They authorized several sportsbooks to operate so that their residents have a variety to choose from.
With so many options to choose from, it can be hard to narrow down exactly which sportsbook is perfect for you. Thankfully, the betting experts at WSN have created a list of the top betting sites. In this guide, we’ll review all the information you need on the most popular sports betting sites in New York in 2024.
FanDuel US
Before sports betting was legalized across the United States, Fantasy Football was one of the only ways that people could enjoy wagering on sports. FanDuel made its name as a Fantasy Football outlet. Following legalization, FanDuel was able to adapt and expand the betting services they offered. Their name recognition helped to attract many new bettors and their reliability and the quality of the services they offered helped to maintain their userbase.
FanDuel offers odds on all the major sports in America and around the world, including some less widely followed sports such as darts and Australian rules football. The FanDuel welcome bonus is called the No Sweat First Bet. Once you’ve created an account, if the first bet you place loses, then you will be refunded the entire amount up to $1,000.
The most frequent complaints about FanDuel concern the user interface and the lack of a live chat customer support function. The interface issues are annoying but minor. The lack of a live chat function is a bit more problematic and hopefully will be addressed soon.
BetMGM
BetMGM is the online casino and sportsbook of the MGM brand. MGM casinos are among the most well-known and well respected in the industry. This respect carries over to their online offerings. If you prefer to entrust your bets to a company that has had decades to establish itself and work out any potential issues, then BetMGM might be the right sportsbook for you.
While some sportsbooks aim for the beginners and the casual bettors who are only interested in the simplest moneyline bets, that isn’t the case with BetMGM. While they do offer all the basic bets, they also offer an impressive range of bets that allow experienced bettors to have a bit more fun with their wagers. These include boosted parlays and one of the biggest varieties of prop bets of any sportsbook on the market.
Perhaps it’s due to being an offshoot of a land-based brand, but unfortunately, BetMGM doesn’t have the most intuitive user interface. It can be a bit annoying to use, with some sports being difficult to find. This is an issue that should be fairly easy to fix.
DraftKings
Like FanDuel, DraftKings got its start in the Fantasy Football industry. Also like their rival, DraftKings have been able to pivot from only offering wagers on Fantasy sports to being one of the top sportsbooks in the country. A nice touch is that DraftKings allows bettors who enjoy both traditional sports betting and Fantasy sports betting to bet on both from the same account and site.
The welcome bonus from DraftKings is a bet matching bonus. Once you place your first bet, DraftKings will match it and give you a free bet of the same value up to $1,000. Your free bet doesn’t even have to be on the same sport. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that this offer is only good for the first 30 days after you create your account.
BetRivers
Unlike most of the other sportsbooks on our list, you’re unlikely to have heard of BetRivers unless you’re from the East Coast or know a lot about sports betting. BetRivers is the betting app of the Rivers casino group. Despite the fairly limited scale of their land-based casino and retail betting options, they have risen to become one of the leading sportsbooks. This is due to the high-quality services they offer and their responsive customer service.
Part of being a smaller brand is being able to honor a commitment to top-tier customer service. BetRivers certainly delivers on this. Any questions or problems that arise can be addressed through the live chat feature or by email. Although many people prefer live chat customer service since help is instantaneous, it is always nice to have an email option for longer, more complicated issues.
BetRivers is particularly well-known for their live betting offerings. They offer live betting opportunities wherever possible. If you prefer to bet on the action as it happens right before your eyes, BetRivers just might be a perfect fit.
Caesars
Caesars is another one of the most recognized and trusted casino brands in the world. While betting on the Caesars betting app means that you don’t get to enjoy all of the fine dining options that the Vegas casino offers, it is infinitely more convenient for bettors based in New York! Like MGM, Caesars saw the value in providing their customers with an online option and that decision has proven to be a smart one.
One of the best things about Caesars is that their sportsbook was created through a partnership with William Hill. William Hill is one of the oldest and most popular sports betting brands in the United Kingdom. Being able to use their software and expertise allowed Caesars to skip over the troubleshooting phase and move right into offering their customers great odds on a huge range of sports.
One thing to note is that while Caesars does offer several welcome and other bonuses, none of them are deposit bonuses. The other bonuses available should, however, more than make up for this oversight.
