6 Things We Learned On New York Sports Betting’s First Day

We're one day into New York sports betting, and it's gone about as expected — lots of excitement, some hiccups, and plenty of heartbreak. We push onward to Sunday.

Here are six things you should know about New York sports betting after its first day with DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and BetRivers all live.

1. The tech is not perfect

Caesars' app and website going down for close to three hours was the biggest story of Saturday.

It first began not working somewhere between 7-8 p.m. ET, and returned just before 11 p.m. ET.

Things were never going to be perfect, but it's not a great start for a book that has some brand awareness but very little consumer equity in regards to its products.

2. The pricing is normal

There was some fear that New York's 51% tax rate for operators would have a downstream impact on bettors, like less favorable odds and pricing. Maybe -112 on NFL point spreads instead of -110.

So far, that's not the case. New York's pricing looks similar to all other states where these sportsbooks operate.

There's no guarantee it remains this way forever, but gaming attorney Daniel Wallach told The Action Network two weeks ago he didn't expect odds to look any different in New York.

Rhode Island and New Hampshire have similar tax rates and have not seen major differences in prices.

3. More sports and bet types missing than just New York colleges

Betting on college teams from New York or college events in the state is not allowed, just like New Jersey. We knew that.

But New York bettors were disappointed to not see a few more sports, leagues and wager types available.

New York's 55-page gaming rules document does not specify what markets are not allowed, but it's clear there will be certain wagers not permitted in New York.

A random sample of what's missing:

• Some NHL player props
• Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament
• Other international soccer leagues
• Cricket

We're trying to track down a list of everything that is not offered and will update this post once we do.

4. The free money is still flowing

New York might not be all that profitable a state for many sportsbooks because of the 51% tax rate. Eventually, there's a belief that the marketing and promos will die down because it will be too expensive to keep up.

That's not happening anytime soon, though. All four live books are giving away big promotional money, including Caesars' $3,000 deposit match plus $300 in free bets.

If you've already claimed your initial sign-up bonuses, don't worry. FanDuel especially is still offering free-money bets (usually with a $50 max) for NFL Week 18 on Sunday.

5. Could New York beat its retail revenue over the last 2.5 years this weekend?

It's clear that New Yorkers were ready to bet. Just look at this stat from Ryan Butler:

New York has generated just $3.7 million in tax revenue for the state at its in-person sportsbooks over the last 2.5 years.

Could the state beat that number after just three days of online betting?

New Jersey sportsbooks made $2.7M per day in October. At a 51% tax rate, that means New York would bring in almost $4M this weekend.

It's quite unlikely New York gets that volume of betting that quickly, but it shouldn't be long until it passes the $3.7M mark.

6. More sportsbooks are coming

DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and BetRivers were approved first, but five more books are on the way.

So if you're still waiting for the right book or a specific wager type (like points betting), more options will be available in the coming weeks.

• BetMGM
• PointsBet
• Bally Bet
• WynnBet
• Resorts World