As New York legalizes sports betting, insiders wager on deluge of betting

New York became the 18th state to legalize online sports betting, but it's a whale of a player because of its 20 million-plus residents, making industry insiders believe the Empire State will set a new record for the highest amount of sports wagering in the first two months of business.The state's gaming commission gave four companies — Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel and Rush Street Interactive — the OK to start accepting bets from smartphone apps on January 8, with more companies expected to get a green light before Super Bowl TKVII bets kicks off February 13. That's because New York has the largest population of any state with legalized sports gambling and gave the OK at arguably the most active time of year for betting, Wallach said. Another reason: Lawmakers in California and Texas — two large-population states that could rival New York's volume — will now feel pressure to legalize online sports betting, Wallach predicted."It's not a stretch for a state like California to eventually become legalized and pull down $30 billion in handles every year," said Wallach, who also teaches sports wagering law at the University of New Hampshire.States began legalizing online sports betting three years ago after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2018 struck down a federal law barring gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports.