New York Sports Betting
The Empire State has always represented the heart of American culture, and New York City is one of the most romanticized, popular cities in the entire world. It’s no surprise, then, that one of the world’s most popular pastimes – sports betting – would be big there, too. Gambling is a large part of New York’s history, and it remains a key aspect of its identity to this day. Legal New York sports betting wasn’t always an option, of course, but even when the activity was frowned upon, industrious New Yorkers found a way to make it work. Today, legal sports betting is commonplace in New York, and several of the trends started by the state are in full swing nationwide. In many ways, sports bettors everywhere are very much in a New York state of mind.
Naturally, the federal government has long pushed back against New York sports betting and the national gambling trends it helped to create. Early on, this was due in large part to the various mafia ties to sports betting’s overall proliferation, though there were other factors in play. For example, many major sports leagues felt that sports betting would hurt their images and negatively impact their revenue streams. All of this led to several anti-gambling laws, including the Interstate Wire Act (1961), the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA, 1992), and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA, 2006).
Despite the Wire Act, PASPA, and the UIGEA, sports betting is legal in New York. While these anti-gambling laws successfully put an end to sportsbooks operating inside the country (excepting Nevada), they were all specifically written to go after US-based bookmakers, not bettors themselves. Thus, the bookmakers simply went elsewhere. As a result, legal New York sports betting is conducted online and offshore.
Some might argue that New York residents can only gamble legally due to this so-called sports betting loophole, but that characterization itself is inaccurate. It is not a “loophole” that allows New York residents to bet on sports; rather, it is the explicit wording of the laws themselves that does this. But even if there were a sports betting loophole, it would be neither wrong nor immoral to take advantage of it. Trade persists. The government has merely pushed an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars – taxable dollars – overseas. Oops!
There are no New York sports betting laws on state books, and wherever the state addresses gambling in general, it does so in much the same way as the federal statutes, limiting criminal liability only to those who take bets in a commercial capacity. Since the New York Constitution doesn’t specifically mention sports betting, the state is entirely reliant on the federal government for any applicable sports betting laws and all enforcement thereof.
The result has simply been that commercial and tribal casinos in New York can neither make sportsbooks nor offer any other sports betting services. New York residents, however, are free to place wagers with whomever they please. Theoretically, if you could find a local bookie in the Big Apple, you could legally bet on whatever they offer. It’s just much safer – and a whole lot more convenient – to use a legal online sportsbook instead.
There are dozens (perhaps hundreds) of legal online sportsbooks available to New York residents, but quantity is less important than quality. If you’re going to sign up with an Internet-based service to handle potentially large amounts of your own money, you should really do some research and choose a reputable online sportsbook.
Fortunately, there are a few standout services that are particularly suited to New York sports betting: BetOnline, SportsBetting, and 5Dimes. These are all industry standard sites, with state-of-the-art data security, comprehensive account encryption, and excellent customer service. Other sites like BookMaker and BetDSI are smaller, but they’re still solid choices, especially if you want to shop lines for the best deals or get larger limits on certain contests. Most savvy sports bettors will join multiple online sportsbooks for these simple reasons.
Before you dive into sports betting, it is important to understand the US system of sports betting odds. In general, all New York sports betting will mirror the American model, which uses the “moneyline” to show how much you can win on whatever amount you wager. Moneyline figures are based on 100, and these are always presented as either positive or negative numbers. The positive number denotes the underdog and shows how much money is won on a $100 bet, while the negative number denotes the favorite and shows how much money must be wagered to win $100. You don’t need to spend these amounts to play – they merely represent the wager-payout ratio for a given bet.
Once you understand the moneyline, each sport has its own unique bet types to learn. However, most of them share common concepts, and almost all sports have some version of the point spread, straight moneyline bet, and over/under bet (a.k.a. totals bet). While folks are most familiar with these three main bets, there are also plenty of other types to consider, including alternate lines, props, futures bets, parlays, in-game bets, and so on. Different services offer different bets and bet types, which is another good reason to sign up at more than one online sportsbook.
Your sports betting strategy is sure to change over time, but for beginners, there are a few key things to keep in mind. First and foremost, manage your finances. You should never risk more money than you can afford to lose. Plus, who the heck wants to add to New York’s outrageous cost of living?
Second, you need to make sure you understand the fundamentals of the sports you bet on. You don’t need to be an expert, but if you go in blind, you might as well just skip sports betting altogether and take your chances with your sportsbook’s slot machines or blackjack tables. Seriously, all it takes to get a meaningful edge in sports betting is a little bit of research.
And that little bit of research is key. To maximize your winnings, you should familiarize yourself not only with a given team’s wins and losses, but with the various betting trends for that team. These trends include a team’s normal moneyline record, their record against the spread, their over/under record, and more. Further, many betting resource sites offer individual player trends to help you make the smartest prop bets and futures wagers possible. Also, remember to pay close attention to the injury reports issued by the teams and leagues you follow.
New York is a sports lover’s paradise. The state’s history is crowded with legendary triumphs and storied traditions across all the major American sports, and every modern league remains represented. In fact, between the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, and Islanders, New York City has amassed a whopping 50 sports championships – by far the most of any major metropolitan area in America!
New York also has 22 Division I NCAA teams, with the Syracuse Orange being the state’s most prominent college sports program. In fact, as a perennial NCAA Tournament contender, the Syracuse men’s basketball team is one of the most bet-on squads in the entire state. So no matter which New York sports betting site or sites you choose, you can be sure they’re going to have tons of Syracuse action every time the Orange take the court.
For now, there are no official sports betting apps available for iPhone or Android devices, as Apple and Google both disallow such products from their platforms. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a solid app-like experience when betting on New York sports.
To that end, the best online sportsbooks all offer web app versions of their desktop Internet sites. Just visit BetOnline et al. on your smartphone or tablet, and you’ll automatically get a mobile-optimized portal designed to help you quickly and easily find and place sports bets on the small screen.
Different deposit methods take different amounts of time. Traditional “paper” transfers (personal checks, money orders, wire transfers, etc.) can take up to two weeks to clear at most sportsbooks, while credit and debit card deposits are much faster and carry lower service fees. If you want to get money into your legal New York sportsbook ASAP, Visa and Mastercard are your best bets, as the process generally takes under a minute or two. (Note: New York sports betting sites currently do not accept American Express.)
Another deposit option that’s really taking off lately (and promises to be the standard going forward) is cryptocurrency. Litecoin is a commonly-accepted digital currency, and both BetOnline and SportsBetting accept the stuff. Still, the most popular option by far is the one you’ve probably heard lots about lately: Bitcoin.
For folks who want maximum data encryption, good transfer rates (10-15 minutes on average), and the very cheapest fees for their New York sports betting needs, there’s Bitcoin. Thanks to its inherently secure blockchain structure, Bitcoin is the gold standard for digital currency, and it’s going to play a huge role in the future of sports betting, both in New York and beyond.
Yes, there’s a small learning curve involved when getting started in Bitcoin, but it’s well worth your time, as cryptocurrency has exciting implications far beyond the gambling industry. Still, Bitcoin is particularly well suited to its role at legal online sportsbooks, and hundreds of New York sports bettors are switching over to it every single day. In many ways, it’s as if Bitcoin were made for online sports betting.
Withdrawing your winnings from a legal online sportsbook is a pretty simple task. You can request bank transfers, money orders, and courier checks, though these often carry considerable fees and can take up to 10 days for delivery. A better option for many users might be an Internet-based peer-to-peer payment system like Skrill or Neteller, which most sportsbooks take. One important caveat is that, in some cases, these latter payout methods are limited to European markets and so may not be applicable to New York sports betting customers.
For most New York bettors, the very best (and probably most profitable) solution is to go with Bitcoin. Not only is Bitcoin safe and secure to use, it’s also the fastest way by far to claim your winnings from any legal online sportsbook. Additionally, it has the smallest associated fees of any popular method, and the transactions are entirely paperless.
It is recommended that you always report your sports betting winnings to the IRS, as this is an implied governmental requirement. Typically, you’ll need to fill out Form W-2G (“Certain Gambling Winnings”) and cross-reference the data with Form 1040 (“Other Income”). In many cases, you can deduct your gambling losses from your federal income taxes, provided it’s an amount that does not exceed your winnings.
New York residents must also consider their state income taxes when reporting their sports betting winnings. It is further encouraged that you study this advisory opinion from the New York Commissioner of Taxation and Finance.
As one of the biggest betting communities in the country, New York sports bettors continue to set trends when it comes to the gambling industry. Additionally, given that New York legislation prompts an inordinate amount of wide-ranging federal policy, the state wields considerable clout in the evolving national sports betting argument. Critically, New York is on the record as supporting the legalization of casino- and land-based sports betting, and the New York Times has even broken several stories about the NBA (and other major sports leagues) now speaking in favor of PASPA’s ouster.
With New Jersey taking its PASPA challenge to the Supreme Court, New York is a staunch backer of and advocate for their neighbor’s success. Should New Jersey succeed in getting PASPA overturned, the future of New York sports betting will be brighter than anywhere else in America. In addition to championing financial freedom for its residents, the state stands to add untold millions (or billions!) of dollars to its tax coffers. Many public initiatives – including those funding education, infrastructure, and industry – would be the primary beneficiaries of such a windfall.
In other words, New York sports betting has the potential to make every New Yorker’s life better, whether they actually bet on sports or not.