Is iGaming Legal In The State Of New York?

Published on April 16, 2025, 4:53 am
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The term “iGaming” covers a wide range of online gambling, including sports betting, casino games, poker, and eSports. So, when considering if iGaming is legal in the state of New York, we must consider both sports betting and casino games. There is always the option to gamble online anonymously and a no KYC casino offers the fun without lengthy ID verifications. However, if you want state regulated iGaming in New York, continue below for the full details.

Online Sports Betting

New York has regulated state-based online sportsbooks and that means anyone at least 21 years old can enjoy a legal online sports bet in the state. New York state sports betting legislation was made into law in April 2021 and has been available to punters since January 2022. Given the appetite for online sports gambling in New York, it comes as no surprise to learn the Empire state generates the most online sports betting revenue in America. If we take the figures for mobile sports betting in New York state between March 2024 and March 2025, more than $1 billion was generated in tax revenue alone. There are several leading online sportsbooks offering their services in New York state and many popular sports teams on which to bet, including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, New York Giants, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, New York Knicks, and Brooklyn Nets.

Online Casino Gaming

While online sportsbooks are thriving in New York state, the same cannot be said for the other major form of iGaming, online casinos. At the time of writing, there are no regulated online casinos available in New York state. This contrasts with land based casinos, which are legal in New York state if they are licensed by the state. The question is, will we see legal and regulated online casinos in New York state soon?

It seems to be a case of “not if, but when” for the regulation of online casinos in New York state. It seems strange that it is not illegal to access licensed offshore casinos in New York state but it is not possible to play at regulated online casinos that are based in New York state or other parts of the United States. That means, when an individual decides to gamble at offshore online casinos, all the money is leaving the state and, unlike with regulated on sports betting, the state does not receive anything in taxes. With the amount of tax revenue generated by online sportsbooks in New York state, it makes sense to regulate online casinos. Land based casinos will oppose regulated online casinos for fear of losing footfall as players choose to stay at home and gamble. However, the argument is that many of the people who want to play casino games online already do it using offshore online casinos, so passing a bill legalize online casinos would not make a significant difference.

Online Poker

Like online casinos, state regulated online poker is not available in New York state at the time of writing. Licensed offshore poker gambling is available and there is no law banning this activity if the poker sites are licensed and regulated companies based outside of the US. Again, it seems to be counterproductive for New York state to allow people to play online poker for real money and all the potential benefits of that money being lost to companies outside the country. Much like online casinos, that could change soon and it would make sense for New York state to offer regulated online poker in the same way as sports betting.

 

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