The roster of online sportsbooks launching into the New York sports betting space continues to increase, with PointsBet NY now live in the Empire State.

PointsBet brings to six the number of sportsbooks available to bettors in New York, after the state gaming commission deemed it had met all statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to accept and process mobile sports bets. PointsBet NY took its first wager at 10:09 p.m. ET on Monday.

The Denver-based operation joins Caesars Sportsbook NY, DraftKings New York, FanDuel NY and Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers brand, which all launched on Jan. 8, and BetMGM New York, which launched on Jan. 17.

The six active mobile sports betting platforms now operational in the Empire State are among nine that were awarded licenses by the New York State Gaming Commission. Resorts World, WynnBET and Bally Bet are the remaining three operators that have yet to launch. The gaming commission has previously stated that launches would occur on a rolling basis when state requirements are met.

"Launching in New York is a significant milestone for PointsBet, being one of nine approved online sports betting operators in the state,” commented Johnny Aitken, PointsBet USA CEO. “New York’s passionate sports fans and bettors will now have access to the fastest online sports betting product in market, with a live, in-game betting experience that PointsBet controls through our proprietary technology and world-class team.”

Online betting A Big Hit in NY

PointsBet now jumps into a frenzy of competing New York betting apps, one that shows all signs of making the state one of the biggest in the nation in terms of sports wagering. In the first 12 hours after the first four online sportsbooks went live on Jan. 8, New York became the top state for sports betting in the United States, according to Lindsay Slader, managing director for gaming at GeoComply, a geolocation security firm based in Vancouver.

And the interest has only grown from there. In the first week of legal online sports betting in New York, the state saw 1.2 million accounts created, with 87.8% of those players new to regulated online sports betting, according to GeoComply. The 17.9 million transactions recorded in the state this past weekend exceeded even the 17.2 million from the first weekend after the first four platforms launched.

“The momentum of New York’s sports betting launch has continued and it is mostly home-grown,” said Lindsay Slader, managing director of gaming at GeoComply. “The vast majority of users are brand new to regulated sports betting in the U.S. The data tell us that New Yorkers are dumping illegal sportsbooks for the new legal options and operators are also excelling at attracting first-time bettors.”

PointsBet continue to expand reach

Originally founded in Australia and launched in the U.S. in 2019, PointsBet now boasts retail or online operations in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia and Virginia. During an NFL Wild Card playoff game, the bookmaker experimented with live, in-play betting that featured no suspensions, and plans to use the results to refine its NFL betting options for the 2022 season.

Look for PointsBet to offer promotions to first-time bettors now that the platform has launched in New York. Previous launch offers from PointsBet have included risk-free bets ranging from $500 to $2,000, depending on the type of wager.