Gaming Commission

Gaming

 

The Division of Gaming oversees sports wagering, commercial casinos, video lottery terminal facilities, Indian gaming, and interactive fantasy sports in New York State.

 

Sports Wagering: New York State law authorizes mobile sports wagering when the sports wager is made through virtual or electronic means from a location within New York and is transmitted to and accepted by electronic equipment located at a licensed commercial casino gaming facility. Mobile sports wagering commenced in New York State on January 8, 2022.

 

Commercial Casinos: These facilities are traditional casinos with live dealers, table games, slot machines, poker, etc.

• The New York State Constitution was amended in 2013 to allow up to seven commercial casinos in the state. Four such facilities have been established.

• The siting and evaluation process for the three remaining licenses is being managed by an independent Gaming Facility Location Board. Visit nycasinos.ny.gov for more information.

 

Video Lottery Terminals and Electronic Table Games: Games that are linked to a centralized system maintained by the Commission that tracks the game play and earnings for each game.

• Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) have the same appearance as slot machines. VLTs must receive winning outcomes transmitted by the central system.
• Electronic Table Games (ETGs) offer video versions of popular casino games like roulette, craps, and baccarat. ETGs can generate winning outcomes at each table.

 

Indian Gaming: In 1988 Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act permitting federally recognized Indian tribes the ability to conduct gaming activities under certain circumstances. Three tribes offer lawful gaming in New York State:

• The Seneca Nation of Indians

• The St. Regis Mohawks

• The Oneida Indian Nation of New York.

 

Interactive Fantasy Sports: Games of skill in which contestants assemble a roster of athletes in a sport and use the actual aggregated performance statistics of those athletes to determine the contest’s winner. Contestants pay fees to enter the contest and, if successful in performing against their opponents, win prizes.

Sports Wagering

 

New York State law authorizes mobile sports wagering when a sports wager is made through virtual or electronic means from a location within New York and is transmitted to and accepted by electronic equipment located at a licensed commercial casino gaming facility. The statutory purpose of mobile sports wagering is to ensure maximized sustainable, long-term revenue for the State.

 

Sports wagering revenue is taxed at 51 percent. Revenue from sports wagering also provides annually:

• $5 million to fund sports programs for underserved youths (administered by the NYS Office of Children and Family Services)

• $6 million to fund problem gambling education and treatment (administered by the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports).

Operator license terms are 10 years.

Wagering Determination

The Commission controls the wagering menu offered by licensed operators and limits sports and leagues accepted for sports wagering.

• Sports wager: A cash or cash equivalent paid by an authorized sports bettor to a casino or a mobile sports wagering licensee to participate in sports wagering.

• Sports event: Any professional sport or athletic event and any collegiate sport or athletic event, except a prohibited sports event.

• Prohibited sports event: A sport or athletic event in which any New York college team participates, regardless of where the event takes place, or high school sport or athletic event.

 

Overall, wagering activity is authorized on more than 20 sports, including but not limited to:

 

Auto Racing	Fighting	Rugby
Baseball	Football	Soccer
Basketball	Golf	Softball
Boxing	Hockey	Tennis
Cycling	Lacrosse	Volleyball

 

Each sport consists of various approved sanctioning bodies or leagues. Sports with restricted stakes include:

• Athletes Unlimited (Basketball, Lacrosse, Softball, Volleyball)

• American Cornhole

• National Lacrosse League and NCAA Division 1 Lacrosse

• Professional Fighters League

• S.F.L. and Indoor Football League

• Australian Football League

• Cricket

• Professional Darts Corporation

• World Snooker Championship

• World Tennis

• International Table Tennis Federation

• European Table Tennis Union

• Sao Paulo Challenger

 

Promotions

All sports wagering promotions must be approved by the Commission prior to release. Acceptable promotions are limited to the following:

• Odds Boosts increase the odds in favor of the bettor to drive additional wagers to a certain offering. Patrons opt-in to the promotion and are paid in cash if the wager wins.

• Profit Boosts increase the odds in favor of the bettor to drive additional wagers to a certain offering at a higher value. Patrons opt-in to the promotion and are paid in free bets/site credits if the wager wins.

• Earn and Get promotions incentivize a patron to wager on a specific market. These promotions are designed to drive additional wagers to a certain market to potentially increase market visibility to players that may not wager on such. Patrons opt-in to the promotion and receive cash or free bets or site credits or other valuables for placing the wager.

• Parlay Insurance is a promotion where a patron receives all or a portion of a specific wager back if the wager or a specific portion of a wager loses. These promotions are designed to drive additional wagers to a certain market to potentially increase the markets visibility to patrons who do not wager on such. Patrons opt-in to the promotion and receive cash or free bets or site credits if the wager or a specific portion of a wager loses.

• Bet and Get promotions incentivize a patron to place a wager on a specific market and receives a larger payout if the market wins. These promotions are typically used as sign-up offers and are designed to incentivize customers to the operator platform. Patrons typically use a promotional code during sign-up, place a wager and, if their wager wins, receive enhanced payout odds in free bets or site credits.

• Sign-Up Bonus promotions are an additional sum of free bets or site credits given to a patron upon creating an account and making a deposit of money. These promotions are designed to attract customers to the operator platform.

• Risk-Free Bets are when a patron receives the amount of a wager in free bets or site credits if the wager loses. These promotions are typically used as sign-up offers and are designed to incentivize customers to an operator platform. Bettors typically use a promotional code during sign up, place their first wager, and, if that wager loses, are refunded the amount in free bets or site credit.

 

Operator Requirements

Among other requirements, operators must:

• Obtain the services of an independent monitor, who examines present betting against historical wagers, seeking anomalies that may be indicative of concern.

• Implement measures to prohibit minors from participating in any sports wagering activity.

• Verify a person seeking to establish a patron account by obtaining and verifying several points of patron information.

• Implement measures related to problem gambling:

  • When an account holder's lifetime deposits exceed $2,500, the operator must prevent wagering activity until the patron acknowledges that they met the deposit threshold. At that time, the patron may elect to establish responsible gaming limits or close the account. After the triggering of the initial $2,500 lifetime deposit threshold, the patron must annually acknowledge whether they elect to establish responsible gaming limits or close the account.

  • Each operator is required to maintain a web page dedicated to responsible play and must maintain a link to their dedicated responsible play page on their website and in any mobile application or electronic platform on which wagers may be placed.

  • Each operator must initially submit and continually update their problem gaming plan to the satisfaction of the Commission in consultation with the OASAS.

 

Among other restrictions, operators must not:

• Make any inaccurate or misleading statements concerning the chances of winning and the number of winners.

• Target prohibited sports bettors, minors, or self-excluded persons in any advertisements for contests and prizes offered

 

 

Customer Complaints

Every mobile sports wagering operator must develop and prominently display procedures on the main page of their mobile sports wagering platform for the filing of a complaint by a patron.

• An initial response must be given by an operator to such complaining patron within 48 hours.

• A complete response must be provided by the operator to a complaining patron within 10 business days.

• An aggrieved patron may file a complaint alleging a violation of law directly with the Commission.

• Operators must immediately bring to the attention of the Commission all patron complaints regarding wagers in excess of $5,000.

 

Statutory Annual Report: Impact of Mobile Sports Wagering on Problem Gamblers

The Commission, in conjunction with the OASAS is required to annually cause a report to be prepared and distributed to the Governor and the Legislature on the impact of mobile sports wagering on problem gamblers in New York, including an analysis of demographics which are disproportionately impacted by the problem gambling.

•  2022 Report

 

Commercial Casino Reports

Sports Wagering Reports

Video Gaming Reports

Commercial Casino Licenses

 

Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor

     • Gaming Facility License Amendment One

 

del Lago Resort & Casino

     • Gaming Facility License Amendment One

     • Churchill Downs Incorporated - Transfer of Interest - First Amended

 

Resorts World Catskills (f/k/a Montreign Resort)

     • Gaming Facility License Amendment One

 

Tioga Downs Casino, Racing & Entertainment

     • Gaming Facility License Amendment One

Interactive Fantasy Sports

 

Interactive Fantasy Sports (IFS) are games of skill in which contestants assemble a roster of athletes in a given sport and use the actual aggregated performance statistics of those athletes to determine the contest’s winner. Contestants pay fees to enter the contest and, if successful in performing against their opponents, win prizes.

 

IFS Contest Operators - Application for Registration

  

•  Temporary permittees (identified below) must submit a completed Application for Registration by January 16, 2024 in order to continue operations in New York State.

•  Additional entities seeking to operate IFS in New York must submit an Application for Registration

•  Completed Application and associated exhibits to the Application should be submitted to request@gaming.ny.gov and copy jim.googas@gaming.ny.gov  using the subject line “[INSERT COMPANY NAME] Interactive Fantasy Sports Application”

 

Applicants (temporary permittees and new applicants) must also complete the Multi-Jurisdictional Business Form and the Multi-Jurisdictional Personal History Disclosure Form. Both forms and their associated attachments/supplements should be submitted to the Commission via hard copy OR flash drive to:

NYS Gaming Commission

c/o Manager of Licensing

1 Broadway Center, Seventh Floor

P.O. Box 7500

Schenectady, NY 12301

 

Individuals required to be fingerprinted should follow these instructions.

 

 

 

Permitted IFS Operators:

•  DraftKings

•  FanDuel

•  Yahoo

•  Fantasy Draft

•  Draft

•  Synkt Games, Inc. d/b/a letsRUMBL

•  Fanamana, Inc.

•  DataForce, LLC

•  RealTime Fantasy Sports

•  For Players By Players

•  Vauntek, Inc.

•  SharpLink Gaming Ltd

•  MastersFantasyLeagues.com

•  Boom Fantasy

•  Fulltime Fantasy Sports, LLC

 

Taxes & Revenue

Operators must pay to New York State:

•  15 percent of IFS gross revenue generated within the state.

•  An additional 0.5 percent (not to exceed $50,000 annually)

All taxes are deposited monthly into the New York Lottery fund for the sole purpose of providing aid to education to New York’s public schools.

 

Operator Requirements

IFS Operators must:

•  Limit each authorized player to one active and continuously used account.
Prevent prohibited players from participating.

•  Prohibit minors from participating.

•  Make clear and conspicuous accurate statements regarding the chances of winning and the number of winners in advertisements or upon contest entry.

•  Enable authorized players to exclude themselves from contests and prevent such players from entering future contests.

•  Allow any authorized player to permanently close an account registered to such player at any time and for any reason.

•  Offer prominently displayed introductory procedures on the main page of the Operator’s platform explaining the contest play and how to identify a highly experienced player.

•  Identify all highly experienced players in a contest by a symbol attached to such players’ usernames, or by other easily visible means, on all platforms.

•  Disclose the number of entries a single authorized player may submit to each contest and disclose the maximum number of total entries allowed.

•  Implement measures to protect the privacy and online security of authorized players and their accounts.

•  Offer all authorized players access to their account history and details.

•  Ensure authorized players’ funds are protected upon deposit and segregated from operating funds and otherwise protected from corporate insolvency, financial risk or criminal or civil actions.

•  Prominently list on each website information regarding assistance for compulsive play in New York State, including a toll-free number directing callers to reputable resources containing further information, which must be free of charge (g., the OASAS HOPE line – 1-877-8-HOPENY).

•  Ensure the value of any prizes and awards offered are established and made known to such players in advance of the contest, and such value shall not be determined by the number of authorized players or the amount of any entry fees paid by such players.

•  Ensure all winning outcomes reflect the relative knowledge and skill of the authorized players and that outcomes are determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of the performance of individuals in sports events.

•  Ensure no winning outcome shall be based on the score, point spread, or performance of a single sports team, or any combination of such teams.

•  Ensure no winning outcome shall be based solely on any single performance of an individual athlete in a single sport or athletic event.

•  Ensure no game or contest shall be based on a prohibited sports event.

•  Restrict the number of entries submitted by a single authorized player for any contest to 150 entries per player per contest, or by a maximum of three percent of the total number of entries by all players for any contest, whichever is less, or as determined by the Commission.

•  Prevent authorized players from submitting more than the allowable number of entries per contest.

•  Develop and prominently display procedures on the main page of the platform for the filing of a complaint. An initial response must be given by the Operator to the player filing the complaint within 48 hours. A complete response must be given by the Operator to the player filing the complaint within 10 business days. An authorized player may also file a complaint alleging a violation of the law with the Commission.

•  Maintain records of all accounts belonging to authorized players and retain such records for five years from the date the account was created.

•  Include fair and accurate information about average winnings in advertisements for contests and prizes.

•  Ensure measures are in place to deter, detect and prevent cheating, including collusion and the use of cheating devices, including software programs that submit entry fees or adjust the athletes selected by an authorized player.

 

IFS Operators must not:

•  Operate, promote or advertise any platform or contest to persons located in New York State unless registered.

•  Promote or advertise any online fantasy or simulation sports games or contests with an entry fee during the conduct of any online fantasy or simulation sports games or contests without an entry fee (unless otherwise approved by the Commission). This does not apply to any Operator that prohibits prohibited players from participating in online fantasy or simulation sports games or contests without an entry fee.

•  Offer any contest based on any prohibited sports event.

•  Permit any minor or prohibited participant to enter any contest.

•  Target prohibited participants, minors or self-excluded persons in advertisements for contests and prizes.

•  Use third-party scripts or scripting programs for any contest.

 

Additional Information

 

Waiver Certification Form

 

Statutory Exclusion 

 

01/31/23 – Mobile Sports Betting in New York: A First Year Review & Its Budget Impact

 

Approved Testing Labs for Commercial & VLT facilities:

•  Gaming Laboratories International, LLC (GLI)

•  BMM Testlabs