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Betting on the Super Bowl in NY: Why you can’t wager on the National Anthem or Gatorade shower
By
Jon Campbell
Published Feb 11, 2023
Modified Feb 8, 2024
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Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
By
Jon Campbell
Published Feb 11, 2023
Modified Feb 8, 2024
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New Yorkers will use their mobile devices to place hundreds of millions of dollars of bets on the Super Bowl this Sunday.
But none of those wagers will be on the number of times Taylor Swift is shown on TV (if she shows), the first song of Usher’s halftime performance or the person deemed the game’s MVP.
Obscure Super Bowl prop bets are a driver of revenue for many sports gambling outfits, but not in New York. Unlike some states, New York’s sports wagering law requires all bets to be tied to the game itself — and state regulators retain the final say on what is and is not allowed.
New York first allowed casinos to offer sports betting in 2019 before expanding to mobile apps in 2022. Last year, people in New York wagered $424 million from their phones the week of the Super Bowl, according to data from the state Gaming Commission.
Before Sunday’s Super Bowl, here’s a look at the types of sports bets New York law does — and does not — allow:
What kinds of Super Bowl bets can I place in New York?
State law allows people who are physically present in New York to place bets on what the state calls a “sports event,” but only through approved mobile apps or in person at a casino.
Basically, that means you can bet on most professional or college games or athletic events — so long as it doesn’t feature a collegiate team that’s based in New York, which state law prohibits as a protection against otherwise unpaid athletes facing the temptation to throw a game.
That, of course, means you can bet on the Super Bowl.
The law specifically allows many types of wagers, including single-game bets, parlays (multiple wagers combined on a single ticket), over-under bets and more. And it also allows mobile apps to offer bets based on an individual player’s performance in professional sporting events, meaning you can place bets on whether, say, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will throw more than three touchdown passes.
It’s up to the state Gaming Commission to approve or disapprove the specific types of wagers a mobile app wants to offer, as well as which leagues they want to allow their customers to bet on.
At a legislative hearing last year, the Gaming Commission's Executive Director Robert Williams said the commission’s staff closely examines the proposed rules for a bet and the sportsbook’s methods for determining who wins before they approve anything.
“In both instances, the commission wants wagering rules that are readily understandable and clear on how a determination on winning and losing is arrived at,” Williams told lawmakers.
What kinds of Super Bowl bets aren’t allowed in New York?
In general, New York only allows bets that are on the games themselves — not on activities that are simply related to the games, the idea being that ancillary activities could be subject to betting fraud.
So while some sportsbooks are offering betting odds for whether Reba McEntire’s national anthem will exceed 90 seconds, those bets aren’t allowed in New York. The same goes for other bets centered on the halftime show, or the color of the Gatorade the winning team pours on its coach.
According to the Gaming Commission, other prohibited bets include:
- Awards that are based on voting, such as the Super Bowl MVP award;
- Anything based on a negative outcome in a sporting event, such as the number of field goals a kicker misses;
- Anything based on the professional sports leagues’ drafts;
- Wagers related to officiating, such as the number of penalty flags thrown by referees.
What about the Super Bowl coin toss?
Under normal circumstances, New Yorkers aren’t allowed to legally bet on the coin toss at the start of a football game, which determines which team starts with the ball.
But for the Super Bowl, the Gaming Commission makes an exception. Several mobile sportsbooks in New York are taking bets on the coin toss, with the commission’s apparent blessing.
Another relatively obscure bet allowed in New York this year: Whether the game will end in what’s known as “scorigami” — a final score that has never before been seen in an NFL game.
This story has been updated throughout.
Tagged
new york city
new york state
Politics
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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