The New York State Bar Association will host a free webinar on Aug. 17 from noon to 1 p.m. on mobile sports betting, prediction markets and what to do if gambling becomes a problem. The session is titled “The New Gambling Landscape: Mobile Sports Betting and Prediction Markets.”
According to NYSBA, Katie Mibaum, team leader at the New York Council on Problem Gambling, will lead the program. The Lawyer Assistance Committee and the Sports Committee are sponsoring it.
Attendees are set to learn how to distinguish mobile sports betting from prediction markets, and why their growing accessibility has widened their reach and potential impact. The program will also cover warning signs, risk factors and the effects gambling disorders can have on individuals, families and professional lives, along with treatment options, support services and other resources.
New York authorized limited licensed mobile sports wagering in 2021, and the first wager was placed on Jan. 8, 2022. The state’s annual report on mobile sports wagering and problem gamblers said that in 2024 New Yorkers wagered $22.6 billion on mobile platforms in more than 1.7 billion transactions.
That report was the first to include specific data from the state’s nine licensed mobile operators, and it described the figures as baseline statistics for future evaluation and research. It said 4.8 million unique mobile sports wagering accounts were created in 2024, with an average of $4,329 wagered per account and $41 per wager.
The same report said there were 1,871 alleged occasions of underage participation through lawfully created accounts through the end of 2024, up from 54 in 2023. It attributed part of that increase to operators improving know-your-customer checks to detect attempts at underage play.
The report also pointed to the strain on problem-gambling services. New York’s voluntary self-exclusion list had 4,541 active individuals in 2024, and 8,200 people had signed up between 2017 and the end of 2024.
The state’s HOPEline, a confidential 24/7 service run by the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, took 3,064 calls in 2024, up 30.7 percent from 2,345 in 2020. Since mobile sports wagering launched, online betting has been the top reason for calls, and OASAS says the service can also be reached by text at 467369.
Prediction markets have also drawn legal scrutiny in New York. In a February industry alert, Attorney General Letitia James warned that unlicensed sports-related event contracts may bring civil and criminal penalties under the Racing Laws and state penal law. On July 31, her office sued Kalshi, alleging the company’s prediction-market platform amounted to illegal gambling and seeking a halt to the conduct, forfeiture of gains, triple civil fines and restitution.
