Will eSports Betting Be Legal in New York?

Although retail sports betting was legalized in New York in 2019 and online sports betting is expected to launch soon in The Empire State, eSports betting has yet to be fully legalized.

eSports betting laws vary state-to-state, meaning eSports betting is fully legal in some states, regulated in others, and illegal in the rest. eSports betting is only fully legal in four states — Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee and West Virginia.

However, New York is a state where eSports is regulated, which means certain rules and restrictions apply but it is not necessarily illegal. The other states are Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Rhode Island, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

The popularity of eSports has just started to rise in the U.S. over the past few years, but it has already become a staple in the sports betting world. The Barclays Center in New York City plays host to the ESL One New York, which is a yearly video game tournament hosted by the largest eSports network in the world.

There are several video game genres featured in eSports betting, including multiple-player online battle arena (MOBA), first-person shooter (FPS), and real-time strategy (RTS). Some of the popular games recognized at the professional level include Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, SMITE, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone and Overwatch.

A recent Action Network study showed that New York ranks No. 4 in terms of states with the most eSports earnings. Although not at the level of sports leagues like the NFL and NBA, eSports is still estimated to be worth an impressive $1B globally.

Upcoming New York Mobile Sportsbooks 

New York has accepted bids from prominent U.S. sportsbooks ahead of the expected online sports betting launch in early 2022. Here is a list of sportsbooks that will go live.

• DraftKings
• FanDuel
• Caesars
• BetMGM
• PointsBet
• WynnBET
• Rush Street (BetRivers andSugarHouse)
• Bally Bet
• Resorts World

More sportsbooks could be added in the future, but the timeline for that remains unknown. It's also unclear which operators would be next in line to get approved.

Read our NY sports betting page to find out more about the status of sports betting in The Empire State and how it could impact eSports legislation.

For further updates on New York and other states that will legalize sports betting in 2022 and beyond, check out ourlegalization tracker for news as it happens.