Online Casinos in New York
Are real-money online casinos legal in the Empire State, and what can you actually play online right now?
- Real-money online casinos
- Not legal, none licensed
- Online sports betting
- Legal, eight mobile sportsbooks
- Online poker
- Not legal
- Online lottery
- Courier services only (Jackpocket, Lotto.com, Jackpot.com)
- Sweepstakes / social casinos
- Banned by S5935A in December 2025
- Commercial casinos
- Four upstate, three NYC licenses awarded Dec 2025
- Tribal casinos
- Oneida, Seneca, Saint Regis Mohawk compacts
- Minimum gambling age
- 21 casinos and sports, 18 lottery and racing
- Regulator
- New York State Gaming Commission
$1.32 Billion in Tax, on Sports Alone
New York collected $1.32 billion in mobile sports betting tax in 2025 on $2.55 billion of operator revenue. The rate is 51 percent, the highest in the country alongside New Hampshire's single-operator deal. Every other multi-operator state runs lower. That is the political backdrop to why Albany has not rushed an online casino bill: mobile sports already prints. It is also the ceiling. Senator Addabbo's S2614 proposes 30.5 percent on iGaming GGR, which would be the lowest of any state that has legalized so far.
- 2025 NY mobile sports handle
- $26.3B
- 2025 NY mobile sports GGR
- $2.55B
- 2025 NY tax to the state
- $1.32B
- GGR tax rate
- 51%
| State | Tax rate | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 51% on mobile GGR | $26.3B handle, $2.55B GGR, $1.32B in 2025 state tax. Nine licenses, eight active operators. Multi-operator and the highest GGR tax in the country. |
| New Hampshire | 51% | Single-operator monopoly. DraftKings has run the only NH mobile sportsbook since December 30, 2019. Not a competitive market. |
| Pennsylvania | 36% (effective ~24.6%) | PA operators deduct promotional credits and bonuses from taxable revenue, which drags the headline 36% closer to a quarter of GGR in practice. |
| Illinois | 20% to 40% graduated | Top of the bracket hits FanDuel and DraftKings at 40% of GGR. The 2025 update added a $0.25-per-wager fee (first 20M wagers) and $0.50 after. |
| Ohio | 20% | Doubled from 10% to 20% under Gov. Mike DeWine in 2023. State collected $79.2M in the first six months of the higher rate. |
| Massachusetts | 20% mobile, 15% retail | Set in Chapter 173 of 2022. No bump in 2025 despite NY and IL precedents. |
| New Jersey | 19.75% online, 8.5% retail | Raised from 13% to 19.75% in the 2025 budget. A 30% online proposal failed earlier in the year. |
| Virginia | 15% | No retail sportsbook tier. Tax applies to mobile GGR with promotional deductions phased out in the first three years. |
| Connecticut | 13.75% | Same rate that applies to online casino under Public Act 21-23. |
| Michigan | 8.4% | The lowest rate in any major multi-operator state. Local Detroit cities add a small additional levy on the three commercial properties only. |
A 51 percent tax cuts every promo, every bonus, every boosted-odds market. Operators in New York post the worst consumer prices in the country on common markets, and the DraftKings and FanDuel earnings calls have flagged New York hold rates above their company averages for years. That is the model Albany would inherit if iGaming legalized at a similar rate. At 30.5 percent, the bill would land below every state that already has online casinos. The political question is whether the lower headline rate ever survives an Albany budget negotiation.
How It Happened
Mobile sports betting signed into law
Governor Cuomo signs the FY2022 state budget authorizing online sports wagering under the New York State Gaming Commission at a 51 percent tax on operator revenue.
First mobile sportsbooks launch
Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetRivers go live as the first four of nine licensed operators.
Sweepstakes casinos banned
Governor Kathy Hochul signs S5935A, outlawing dual-currency sweepstakes platforms that mimic casinos, sportsbooks, lotteries, or bingo. Fines run from 10,000 to 100,000 dollars per violation.
Three downstate casino licenses awarded
The Gaming Commission approves Bally's at Ferry Point in the Bronx, Hard Rock at Metropolitan Park in Queens, and a full casino conversion at Resorts World New York City.
Addabbo reintroduces online casino bill
Senator Joseph Addabbo files S2614 with a 30.5 percent tax on gross gaming revenue. Assemblymember Carrie Woerner files companion bill A5922.
Two Operators, 76 Percent of the Market
Nine companies have held New York mobile sports licenses since the January 2022 launch. FanDuel and DraftKings took 76 percent of operator revenue between them in 2025. The other seven licenses share the remaining quarter, and a couple of them barely register in monthly reporting. Penn Entertainment ran the ESPN Bet brand in New York through December 1, 2025, then ended the ESPN marketing deal and rebranded its US sportsbook to theScore Bet. The list below is the full nine.
| Operator | 2025 performance |
|---|---|
| FanDuelFlutter Entertainment | 2025 revenue cleared $1.1B for the year. December alone hit $120.1M. Handle share reached 38.1% in October. |
| DraftKingsDraftKings Inc. | December 2025: $800M+ handle and $84M revenue. Owns Jackpocket, the largest NY lottery courier, since May 2024. |
| Fanatics SportsbookFanatics Betting & Gaming | Bought the PointsBet US business in 2023, then pushed handle past $200M in single months by late 2025. Revenue up 50.8% YoY in October. |
| BetMGMMGM Resorts + Entain | Reclaimed 7% handle share by late 2025. October handle $187.5M and revenue up 50%+ YoY. |
| Caesars SportsbookCaesars Entertainment | $175.8M handle and $13.2M revenue in October 2025, up 21% YoY. Caesars also lost the Times Square casino bid in November. |
| BetRiversRush Street Interactive | $53M handle and $4.4M revenue in October 2025, best month since late 2023. Skin licensed through Rush Street. |
| Bally BetBally's Corporation | Tied to the same parent that won the Bronx Ferry Point license on December 15, 2025. |
| Resorts World BetGenting Group | License runs alongside the Resorts World NYC casino, which converted from a VLT racino to a full casino in December 2025. |
| theScore Bet (formerly ESPN Bet)PENN Entertainment | ESPN Bet ran in NY through December 1, 2025. PENN ended the ESPN marketing deal that day and rebranded to theScore Bet for the US market. |
Concentration that severe is unusual even in mature sportsbook markets. New Jersey's top two combine for about 65 percent. Pennsylvania's for roughly 60 percent. The 51 percent tax is part of why New York flattens like this: only operators with the largest player databases and the deepest marketing budgets can absorb the hold rates. A new entrant would burn cash chasing customers who already pay 51 cents on every operator dollar back to Albany.
Online Casino Options for New York
New York licenses no online casinos and bans sweepstakes sites. The listings below are placeholders until our database is wired in for the state.
Casinos we play at. We earn a commission when you sign up through these.
Three Licenses, Three Outer Boroughs
The Gaming Commission ratified three downstate casino licenses on December 15, 2025, two weeks after the Gaming Facility Location Board unanimously cleared the same three projects on December 1. All three sit outside Manhattan. Every Manhattan bid was either rejected by its Community Advisory Committee or withdrawn before that vote. Coney Island lost the only Brooklyn bid the same way. MGM pulled its Yonkers expansion ahead of the decision. The outer-borough sweep was the structural result of the CAC process, not the regulator's preference.
| Project | Site | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Bally's BronxBally's Corporation | Ferry Point, former Trump-managed public golf course | CAC approval cleared the path in late November 2025. Construction phasing keeps the public golf course open during early build-out. |
| Metropolitan ParkHard Rock International + Steve Cohen | Willets Point, Queens, next to Citi Field | Hard Rock runs the casino, Cohen owns the land. Phased build targets June 2030 for the casino, with entertainment district before that. |
| Resorts World NYCGenting Group | Aqueduct Racetrack, Ozone Park, Queens | Existing VLT racino converts to full casino: 4,500+ slots and 500+ table games. Live tables target March 2026, the earliest of the three projects. |
| Project | Site | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Caesars Palace Times SquareCaesars + Jay-Z / Roc Nation + SL Green | West 41st and Broadway, Manhattan | Rejected by the Community Advisory Committee in fall 2025. Theater District landlords and Broadway unions led the opposition. |
| The AvenirLarry Silverstein | Hudson Yards, Manhattan | CAC rejected the bid. Local opposition cited residential density and traffic load on the West Side. |
| Freedom PlazaSoloviev Group + Mohegan | East 38th and FDR Drive, Manhattan | The last Manhattan project standing in November 2025. Local CAC voted it down, completing the borough's elimination from the race. |
| The ConeyThor Equities + Saratoga + Chickasaw Nation | Coney Island, Brooklyn | CAC rejected the proposal. Was the only Brooklyn bid; its loss left Brooklyn without a casino site in this round. |
| Wynn Hudson YardsWynn Resorts + Related | West Side rail yards, Manhattan | Wynn withdrew in May 2025 before the CAC vote, citing the regulatory and zoning timeline against project economics. |
| MGM Empire CityMGM Resorts | Yonkers (Westchester), existing racino | Pulled in October 2025 citing shifting competitive and economic assumptions. Empire City keeps its VLT racino license; no full casino expansion. |
Resorts World will be the first to add live tables, targeting March 2026, because the Aqueduct site already runs a VLT racino and the conversion is paperwork over construction. Bally's Bronx phases around an active public golf course. Hard Rock and Cohen's Metropolitan Park targets June 2030 for the casino. The three additions push the total New York commercial casino count from four upstate to seven statewide, plus four tribal properties.
Why There Are No Online Casinos
New York legalized mobile sports betting through the fiscal year 2022 state budget, which Governor Andrew Cuomo signed on April 19, 2021. That law gave the New York State Gaming Commission authority over online sports wagering at a 51 percent tax rate, the highest in any multi-operator US state. It said nothing about online slots, table games, or live dealer play, and no iGaming law has passed in the four sessions since.
Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. introduced S2614 on January 7, 2026, his latest annual attempt to authorize online casinos. Assemblymember Carrie Woerner filed companion bill A5922. The proposal sets a 30.5 percent tax on gross gaming revenue and limits eligibility to existing commercial casinos, video lottery facilities, tribal operators with a compact, and mobile sports betting licensees. The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, a 40,000-member labor union, has called iGaming a job killer and blocked prior versions. Addabbo confirmed in May 2026 that the bill will not advance this session.
Why iGaming Keeps Dying Before a Vote
Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. has filed an online casino bill in every session since 2023. The 2026 version, S2614, came in with a 30.5 percent tax rate and a $25 million worker training concession bolted on to ease the union pitch. None of it changed the outcome. Addabbo himself told gambling.com in May that he would not waste anyone's time pushing the bill to a floor vote this session. The structural blocks below are why.
What stops S2614 from moving
- The labor block
- The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, a 40,000-member union representing brick-and-mortar casino workers, has opposed every iGaming bill since 2022. Its political director told CDC Gaming the union expected labor concerns to be the biggest reason a bill would not pass again this year. Without HTC, the bill has no Assembly path.
- The $25M concession that did not work
- Addabbo's 2026 draft added a $25 million Employee Training and Safety Fund to ease the union pitch. The state AFL-CIO would not endorse on that alone, and HTC stayed opposed. The concession is in the bill text but the politics did not move.
- Hochul has not endorsed
- Addabbo told gambling.com in May 2026: 'We could pass it in the Senate, we could pass it in the Assembly and then the governor would probably not sign it. So I'm not going to waste anyone's time here.' Hochul's 2026 State of the State did not mention iGaming.
- The session math
- The 2026 legislative session ends June 4. The state budget did not pass until late April, which cut floor time. Fewer than 20 session days remained when the budget cleared, and the gaming committee did not schedule the bill for a hearing inside that window.
- The revenue pitch
- Addabbo and supporting analysts project roughly $1 billion in annual state tax revenue from a mature iGaming market at the 30.5% draft rate. That number is real, but it is also a smaller marginal lift for Albany than the $1.32 billion mobile sports betting already produces, which made the budget tradeoff less urgent.
The HTC veto is not subtle. In two of the past three sessions, the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee was prepared to advance language; the Assembly would not match because Speaker Carl Heastie would not schedule it without union signoff. That is the choke point. Until HTC moves, or until a governor signals she will sign over union objection, Addabbo's bill returns to the same place each January. He has said he will refile in 2027.
What You Can Play Online
The real-money options available to New York residents as of May 2026.
Mobile Sports Betting
Authorized in the 2021 state budget and live since January 8, 2022. Eight apps operate today: Bally Bet, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, and Resorts World Bet. The 51 percent tax is the highest in any multi-operator US state. Regulated by the New York State Gaming Commission, 21 and up.
NY Lottery via Couriers
The New York Lottery does not sell tickets directly online. Licensed couriers Jackpocket, Lotto.com, and Jackpot.com buy official tickets on your behalf from a retailer and store a scanned copy in the app. Powerball, Mega Millions, and state draw games are available, 18 and up.
Upstate Commercial Casinos
Four full-service venues operate in person: Rivers Casino in Schenectady, Resorts World Catskills, del Lago Resort near Waterloo, and Tioga Downs. The Gaming Commission added three downstate licenses on December 15, 2025 for Bally's in the Bronx, Hard Rock at Metropolitan Park in Queens, and a full casino at Resorts World New York City.
Tribal Casinos
The Oneida Indian Nation runs Turning Stone, Yellow Brick Road, and Point Place. The Seneca Nation runs casinos in Niagara Falls, Salamanca, and Buffalo. The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe runs Akwesasne Mohawk Casino. Tribal gaming operates under federal compacts and is in person only.
Four Licensed Couriers, One Owned by DraftKings
The New York Lottery does not sell tickets directly online. What it does is license third-party couriers that buy official tickets on a player's behalf at a licensed retailer and store a scan in the app. Four companies hold those licenses: Jackpocket (DraftKings), Lotto.com, Jackpot.com, and theLotter. New York is one of only two US states that formally licenses couriers, after Texas withdrew tolerance in February 2025. The framework is set in 9 NYCRR Part 5014.
How the courier rail actually runs
- Licensed couriers in NY
- Four hold active licenses under 9 NYCRR Part 5014: Jackpocket (DraftKings), Lotto.com, Jackpot.com, and theLotter. New York is one of only two US states that formally licenses couriers; Texas withdrew tolerance in February 2025.
- DraftKings owns the largest one
- DraftKings paid $750 million for Jackpocket, closing May 23, 2024: $412.5M cash and $337.5M in DKNG Class A stock with a collar. The pitch was customer-base cross-sell. Jackpocket players are more likely to add a sportsbook or iGaming account than the average customer.
- The bulk-buying rule
- The NYSGC adopted revised rules on December 4, 2024 to close the loophole that let a player drive in, place a recurring order, and fund it from out of state. Players must now cover the full cost of each order while physically located in NY, either from the account balance or a card-on-file payment at the time of order.
- Why this matters for iGaming
- DraftKings' ownership of Jackpocket gives it a NY direct-to-consumer rail that no rival has. If iGaming legalizes, the same Jackpocket account that already buys Powerball and Mega Millions in NY is the easiest possible upsell path to a slot game. Operator economics anticipate that. NY law does not, yet.
The courier rail is technically a lottery product, not a gambling product, so it has been a quiet workaround for the absence of NY iGaming. It also gives DraftKings something none of its rivals has: a verified New-York-resident customer base it can market against when an iGaming law eventually passes. The Jackpocket purchase made sense at $750 million for that reason alone.
Every Bordering State Has iGaming
New York shares a border with four of the eight US states that already run regulated online casinos. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island between them ran more than $7.2 billion in online casino revenue in 2025. Pennsylvania at $3.46 billion is the largest US iGaming market. New Jersey, easiest to reach across the GWB or the Lincoln Tunnel, ran $2.91 billion and beat its Atlantic City casino floors on online revenue for the first time. New York collects zero on this activity. The geography is the cleanest argument for S2614, and Albany still has not bought it.
| State | Tax rate | 2025 GGR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| PennsylvaniaSouth / West | 54% slots / 16% tables | $3.46B iGaming GGR (2025) | Largest US iGaming market. Online surpassed retail casino revenue for the first time in 2025 (+28% YoY). |
| New JerseySouth | 19.75% (raised from blended 17.5% July 2025) | $2.91B iGaming GGR (2025) | Online beat AC retail casinos for the first time in 2025. Easiest crossing point for NYC residents via GWB or Lincoln Tunnel. |
| ConnecticutEast | 18% (steps up to 20% in Oct 2026) | $761M iGaming GGR (FY2025) | Tribal duopoly: DraftKings via Foxwoods, FanDuel via Mohegan Sun. One online skin per master wagering license. |
| Rhode IslandEast (further) | 61% slots / 15.5% live dealer | ~$120M iGaming GGR (annualized 2025) | Launched March 2024 under Bally's monopoly. Live-dealer-only table games. Highest slots tax in the country. |
| New YorkHome | No iGaming statute | $0 iGaming GGR | Nineteen million residents, the largest iGaming-prohibition state by population. Addabbo's S2614 would draft a 30.5% rate. |
Fort Lee, New Jersey is roughly seven miles from Times Square. A New Yorker who wants to play online slots opens the FanDuel or BetMGM Casino app while standing in northern New Jersey and the bet clears. The same operator cannot take that wager on the New York side of the bridge. That is the structural fact under any S2614 revenue projection. NJ already runs a 22 percent year-on-year growth pace on a base that includes a meaningful share of cross-border NY players. Legalizing in New York would repatriate that revenue rather than create it.
New York Gambling FAQ
Are online casinos legal in New York?
No. New York has not legalized real-money online casino games, and the state licenses no operator to offer slots, table games, live dealer, or online poker. Sites advertising NY online casinos are offshore and unregulated.
Is there a bill to legalize online casinos in New York?
Yes. Senator Joseph Addabbo introduced S2614 on January 7, 2026, with companion bill A5922 by Assemblymember Carrie Woerner. The proposal sets a 30.5 percent tax and limits licenses to existing commercial casinos, video lottery facilities, tribal operators, and mobile sportsbook licensees. Addabbo said in May 2026 that the bill will not advance this session.
What can I bet on online in New York?
Mobile sports betting through eight operators including BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetRivers, Bally Bet, Resorts World Bet, and Fanatics. Daily fantasy sports and horse race wagering are also legal online. The state lottery is sold through licensed couriers, not directly online.
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in New York?
No. Governor Hochul signed S5935A on December 5, 2025, banning dual-currency sweepstakes platforms that mimic casino games, sports betting, lotteries, or bingo. The law applies to operators, suppliers, payment processors, and affiliates, with fines from 10,000 to 100,000 dollars per violation.
How old do you have to be to gamble in New York?
Casinos and sports betting require age 21. Lottery, horse racing, daily fantasy sports, and bingo are 18 and up.
Will New York legalize online casinos in 2026?
Not this session. Senator Addabbo confirmed in May 2026 that S2614 will not advance, and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council labor union continues to oppose iGaming as a threat to brick-and-mortar casino jobs. The bill is expected to return in the 2027 session.