Caesars Sportsbook may bill itself as the “emperor” of the industry, but in New York, its offer to new players in the Empire State is king.
One of major four sportsbooks set to go live Saturday morning in the biggest state with legal sports betting, Caesars is offering new customers a $300 signup bonus and up to $3,000 in a deposit match. The offer is available to new customers 21 and older. And that $3,000 deposit match is a better deal than the company’s stunning $5,000 first-bet bonus, which was available in eight states in August and September.
Caesars plans to launch its digital platform Saturday at 9 a.m., the earliest that state regulators allow. The timing will allow consumers to wager on Saturday’s two NFL games, as well as the Knicks-Celtics and Rangers-Ducks games. Keep in mind these terms and conditions for the $300 free bet (for which bettors would get any winnings on the bet, not winnings plus the $300 staked itself), and for the match deposit (which has just a 1x play-through requirement):
New York is home to a total of 12 professional sports teams spread across the five professional leagues, all of which have their corporate offices in New York City.
DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive (BetRivers) also received approval and have plans to launch Saturday.
Expect New York-specific specials, experiences
Beyond the bonuses, Caesars has plans to offer other game-specific and New York-specific promos this weekend, as well as “experiential” events going forward. While New York allows for remote registration, Caesars customers will also be able to register sports betting accounts in person at Turning Stone Casino, the company’s partner upstate. Turning Stone, owned by the Oneida Nation, is among a handful of casinos that have been able since 2019 to offer live, in-person wagering.
Get ready to #BetLikeACaesar, NY! pic.twitter.com/LHKnewM1Lx
— Caesars Sportsbook (@CaesarsSports) January 7, 2022
The partnership with Turning Stone is only one of many that Caesars has in New York. It also has deals with Madison Square Garden, MSG Networks, the New York Knicks, and the New York Rangers. And going forward, Caesars has plans to leverage every one of those alliances across the state to stamp a big footprint in the Empire State.
“Over the course of the next several months, you’ll see us do experiential events across the state,” Ken Fuchs, Caesars head of sports, told Sports Handle Friday. “We have a 60 million [person] database and we’ll accelerate that with Turning Stone and the Knicks and the Rangers and the MSG. You’ll see us do a lot of things on the ground, and take the opportunity to get in front of fans.”
Happy to join the @CaesarsSports family and excited to welcome #caesarssportsbook to New York 🗽😎 pic.twitter.com/w1IWOz66hV
— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) January 8, 2022
Caesars rewards can equal hotel rooms
Of the four operators going live Saturday, Caesars is unique as the only one with a national casino presence that includes myriad brick-and-mortar resort and gaming locations across the country. Caesars Sportsbook is licensed in more than a dozen states and currently offers digital wagering everywhere from Arizona to Michigan to West Virginia.
DraftKings and FanDuel are, for the most part, digital-only entities (though they do operate some retail sportsbooks) and Rush Street Interactive has physical casinos in several states, including Illinois and Pennsylvania as well as New York.
In New York, as in other states, Caesars sports betting customers will be able to earn rewards points that can be traded in for everything from food and beverage to hotel stays.
Hey New York, #CaesarsSportsbook is coming 👀
According to @Kenny_Mayne it's a big deal. He's right! ✈️ pic.twitter.com/ufdxazi0AI— Caesars Sportsbook (@CaesarsSports) January 7, 2022
Caesars is the only one among the early New York online operators with the cache of a Las Vegas Strip location and the advantage of having been a part of the American psyche for decades. The first Caesars property dates to 1937 in Reno, but its most recent incarnation began with the El Dorado Hotel in Reno in 1973, and it’s been a winding road of mergers and acquisitions ever since. The company’s showpiece is the sprawling Caesars Palace complex that opened in Las Vegas in 1996.
The other casino resort companies among the nine operators approved for wagering in New York are BetMGM, ResortsWorld, and WynnBet, none of which has go-live approval yet.