Residents of the largest and most lucrative city in the United States will soon be allowed to legally bet on sports from their phone apps with bookmaker PointsBet (ASX: PBH) recommended by the New York State Gaming Commission for a wagering licence. 

The Commission’s recommendation is that PointsBet be awarded a Platform Provider licence to operate mobile sports wagering in New York. This will enable PointsBet to offer mobile betting services to more than 20 million residents in the State. 

New York City is the largest city in the United States by population with approximately 8.8 million residents, many of which PointsBet will already have a direct line of marketing communications to via their USD $500 million partnership with NBC. The deal has already generated more than 516,000 customer leads and is rising as more Americans sign up for free to enter tipping competitions that offer $100,000 jackpots. 

“Today’s news of being recommended by the New York State Gaming Commission marks an exciting moment for us at PointsBet,” said PointsBet US CEO, Johnny Aitken.

“Having the potential to secure market access to New York state – expected to be one of the largest and most important markets in the United States – represents another major milestone for our company, our brand, and our technology. 

“We are thankful to the Gaming Commission for this recommendation and believe it speaks volumes to PointsBet’s reputation and ability to deliver an unrivaled, world-class experience. We eagerly await the official opportunity to leverage our exclusive sports betting partnership with NBC Sports and introduce the nation’s premier sports betting product to the countless passionate, sports-loving New Yorkers.” 

As part of the New York State Gaming Commision’s process, bookmakers seeking to operate in the State had to submit highly detailed applications that were scrutinised by the commission. 

The document detailing the application criteria is 35 pages long, alone. 

Notably amongst the failed bids was Bet365 – one of the largest bookmakers in the world – whose bid failed when the committee was unable to determine how Bet365 would contribute to State revenues based on their application. 

In addition to PointsBet, eight other operators were recommended by the NYSGC – FanDuel, BallyBet, BetMGM, DraftKings, Rush Street Interactive, Caesars, WynnBet and Resorts World.

The recommended operators are expected to undergo independent systems testing over the coming weeks with official launches expected in early 2022 just in time for the SuperBowl – the largest wagering event on the packed US sports calendar.