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Through partnerships with BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, and FanDuel, PayNearMe has gone live in New York alongside three of the four first mobile sportsbooks to launch in the state. It has gotten in on the ground floor of what will likely become the largest sports betting market in the United States.
PayNearMe is a payment processor for companies in several industries, including gambling. For partnered sportsbooks, PayNearMe processes most of the deposits, and it’s beginning to expand into withdrawals, including offering sportsbook customers the ability to withdraw money at ATMs.
PayNearMe also has relationships with some of the mobile sportsbooks that will go live in the next wave of app launches in New York — BetMGM and PointsBet. Its presence will be felt across New York as bettors deposit at more apps.
Here’s how PayNearMe’s launch in the back end of New York mobile sports betting went during the first weekend.
Deposits During New York’s First Weekend
According to GeoComply, New York saw more mobile sportsbook transactions than any other state during its first weekend. But according to PayNearMe’s deposit data, New Jersey and Pennsylvania customers deposited more money than those in New York. Part of the reason is only three of PayNearMe’s partnered sportsbooks have launched in New York. The deluge of welcome bonuses also explains the discrepancy.
“If you put $500 in and you get $500 [in a deposit match bonus], now you have $1,000 of wagering,” Mike Kapla, PayNearMe’s Chief Revenue Officer, told Gaming Today. “You can do a lot of wagering off of that $1,000 before you have to deposit the second time.”
Deposit amounts often lag behind wager amounts in a market’s early days. First bet offers and deposit matches pad bettors’ wallets. So, bettors can wager more than they initially deposit. New Yorkers have plenty of welcome bonuses to choose from including:
- DraftKings: 20% deposit match up to $1,000 & $50 bonus bet with $5 deposit
- Caesars: $3,000 deposit match & $300 in site credits upon registration
- BetRivers: 100% deposit match up to $250
That New York’s deposit levels could compete with New Jersey and Pennsylvania is impressive in its own right. New Jersey and Pennsylvania customers deposit to both online sportsbooks and online casinos. New York bettors on PayNearMe’s partnered sportsbooks cracked the payment processor’s top three states with sports betting deposits alone.
GeoComply and PayNearMe’s data make it clear that New Yorkers are enthusiastic bettors.
PayNearMe’s New Features
New York mobile sports betting is getting rolling around the same time that new features are coming from PayNearMe. These include:
- Cash at ATM withdrawals
- Debit card, Apply Pay, and Google Pay Deposits
- Accelerated withdrawals for qualifying wagers
PayNearMe hopes to launch these features at the end of Q1 this year. Bettors should watch for improved deposit flows, faster withdrawals for smaller wagers, and ATM cash withdrawal options toward the beginning of spring.
These features won’t be available at every sportsbook. It’ll only be available at sportsbooks that are utilizing that technology.
“A lot of the other functionality is available,” Kaplan said. “The three operators we launched with in New York aren’t necessarily using it today.”
PayNearMe declined to name the partnered sportsbooks that will launch these features. But as PayNearMe launches new services, New York bettors will gain improved deposit and withdrawal services from select sportsbooks.
New York’s Broader Impact
New York bettors have been an important part of New Jersey’s sports betting market since the industry launched in the Garden State in 2018. In 2019, 20% of New Jersey’s betting handle came from New Yorkers crossing the border for convenient online sports betting, according to a study. Now that New Yorkers don’t have to commute for online sports betting, some analysts expect New Jersey’s betting handle to drop.
“New York is going to clearly crush it from a sports betting perspective,” Kaplan said. “I think it’ll have some negative impacts in terms of New Jersey’s volume for sure. But at least, probably in the short term.”
New Jersey has online casinos, which in the long run, could help make up for the disruption of New York’s launch. Besides, New Jersey is an entrepreneurial hub for sports betting. Startups like Sporttrade and Prophet Exchange are planning on making their debuts there. New Jersey’s market size, mature customer base, and low tax rate make it a popular place for startups to launch. New Jersey will remain an important sports betting market alongside New York.
New York Beyond The Northeast
New York’s mobile sports betting market finally going live may expedite the launch in other states.
“Obviously, depending on if New York does as people think it’s going to, there are other big states that will probably follow suit,” Kaplan said. “We still don’t have California. We still don’t have Florida. We still don’t have some big states that are out there. If the [New York] market is crushing it, that’s revenue.”
It appears California will have several sports betting initiatives on its ballot in November 2022. Florida will may have to renegotiate its tribal compact, put the measure to a statewide vote, or both. Texas will likely take a few more years of GOP super-donor money to overcome the inertia of its strict anti-gambling laws.
But all those states — and several others — will want to replicate New York’s sports betting successes.
