New York quickly became the largest state for online sports betting after the legal industry began at the weekend. Data released by GeoComply shows that there were 5.8 million geolocation pings in the first 12 hours across the Empire State. Bettors are required to use a geolocator to prove that they are physically located in New York or another state that has legal online sports wagering. It pings when they place a bet, allowing the company to assess the volume of wagers being placed in each state.
Lindsay Slader, GeoCompy’s managing director for gaming, revealed that “in just 12 hours, New York has become the top state for sports betting in the US”. The second largest state, Pennsylvania, had just 2.3 million pings in that time, while there were 2.1 million in neighboring New Jersey. The Garden State had been the number one state for sports betting – and many New Yorkers headed into New Jersey each week to place mobile wagers – but it is now set to lose that crown. “A launch this size is historically unprecedented,” said Slader. “Congratulations to our customers and the New York Gaming Commission for the fast and furious start.”
Four GeoComply customers – BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook – went live on Saturday. Five more operators have gained licenses, but they were not ready to launch. Those four sportsbooks generated 17.2 million pings over the weekend, according to Slader, who released an interesting graphic to highlight the volume. There were 8 million pings in the five boroughs of New York City alone, which was more than any individual state during the weekend.
Caesars Offers $3,300 in Bonus Funds
The operators launched impressive bonuses in a bid to secure an early lead. The most impressive sign-up offer came from Caesars. It gave new customers $300 in free bet credit, plus a 100% deposit match worth up to $3,000. It means that casual players could make a deposit of just $20 and receive $320 in bonus funds, while bettors with larger bankrolls could claim $3,300 in free bet credit. The credit has just a 1x rollover requirement, so it is an extremely generous offer. Caesars Sportsbook is still giving away a free NBA jersey to anyone that wagers $100 on basketball games too, while it offers a ton of odds boosts and additional promos.
The company invested in a prominent TV ad campaign during Week 18 of the NFL to promote the bonus, and it generated a great deal of interest from New Yorkers. “The numbers were massive,” said Caesars chief executive Tom Reeg, who pledged to invest heavily in bonuses after purchasing William Hill and turning it into Caesars Sportsbook last year. “We had almost a million individual bets taken. We knew New York sports bettors were a passionate group. They didn’t disappoint this weekend.”
Caesars launched in Arizona in September 2021, where it became the fourth largest operator after DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM. Reeg said volumes were nine times larger in New York upon launch. However, the surge in demand caused the Caesars Sportsbook app and website to go down for several hours over the weekend. “When you have massive demand like we did, you see the pinch points in your system,” Reeg said. “Unfortunately, we did not have flawless performance this weekend, and as a sports bettor myself I know how frustrating that can be.”
DraftKings Launches Exciting Odds Boost
Users also reported issues with DraftKings and FanDuel amid the avalanche of bets placed on the opening weekend. DraftKings also went in with a terrific bonus offer. It is allowing new customers in the state to wager $5 on any NFL game, and they will be given $280 in free bets if it is successful, along with any winnings from the $5 bet. The free bets are divided into seven, so you will receive a series of bets worth $40 apiece. These free bets have just a 1x playthrough requirement too.
You can choose any NFL game to bet on. It is a moneyline bet, so you can opt for a heavy favorite. For example, the Kansas City Chiefs are -650 to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round. There are no guarantees, but the Chiefs beat Pittsburgh by 26 points just a few weeks ago, and they are highly likely to win. FanDuel and BetRivers have also launched large offers, and you can claim bonuses from all four sportsbooks if you like. The competition will heat up when the other five operators – Bally Bet, BetMGM, PointsBet, Resorts Sportsbook and WynnBET – launch, so there should be lots more exciting bonuses to come for New York residents, despite operators needing to pay huge licensing fees and a 51% tax rate.
DraftKings to Replace Scoreboard in Oregon
It has been a strong week for DraftKings, which tied up a deal to replace the Scoreboard app as the sole legal online sports betting brand in Oregon. It represents the second state in which DraftKings has a monopoly, along with New Hampshire. In the first 11 months of 2021, the handle in New Hampshire was $617 million. It was just $298 million in Oregon during the same period, despite Oregon’s population being three times larger than New Hampshire’s. The Oregon Lottery Commission hopes the switch to DraftKings will make sports betting more popular in the state.
“We’re excited about the improved experience for our players – including the ability to make same game parlay bets,” said director Barry Pack, Director, Oregon Lottery. “DraftKings is a premier provider in the US. We see benefits for Lottery too, as the shift to DraftKings means fewer third-party service providers and a simpler financial structure for player accounts.”
The Scoreboard app runs on the SBTech white-label platform. DraftKings merged with SBTech in 2021 and it also uses the company’s platform, but the design is different and DraftKings is a much more prominent brand. The transition will take place on January 18. All open bets on the Scoreboard app will remain, and players’ account balances will be transferred over to DraftKings. They will also be able to see their account histories for six months.
“DraftKings is thrilled to embark on this journey with the Oregon Lottery as we build out a coast-to-coast presence with our top-rated online sportsbook for these fans to experience ahead of the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl,” said Paul Liberman, co-founder and president of global technology and product at DraftKings. “The Oregon Lottery shares our innovative spirit as one of the most progressive organizations in the real-money gaming sector, and together we look forward to delivering the exceptional online sportsbook products that Oregonians have been anticipating.”