The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) has launched a new platform directing residents to guidance on how to identify unlicensed online gambling sites, including prediction market platforms, and why to avoid them.
The Avoid Risky Bets initiative, introduced on 8 May, targets a broad range of unlicensed operators.
Online gambling, sweepstakes casinos, prediction markets and offshore gaming sites all constitute forms of gambling that are prohibited by the commission in New York State, according to a statement.
The commission identifies several warning signs residents should watch for.
An operator not licensed by the commission, a website with no customer service or contact information, a platform based outside the US, no age-restriction controls, and no responsible gaming measures, such as self-exclusion or cooling-off periods, are all red flags the commission lists on the platform.
The consumer risks it outlines are substantial. Unlicensed operators are not required to have anti-money laundering or know-your-customer controls in place, and undertake no independent auditing. Patrons have little or no recourse to resolve disputes.
The commission also warned that bettors may unwittingly be supporting organised crime.
It added that in some cases, unlawful platforms permit wagering on political violence and war. They also allegedly allow market makers who hold non-public information to trade against ordinary users.
Youth access is a central concern of the campaign. The minimum age on many offshore platforms and prediction market sites is 18, three years below New York’s legal sports wagering age of 21.
The commission notes that such platforms actively market on university campuses, which New York law prohibits licensed operators from doing.
NY cracking down on unauthorised online gambling
The campaign follows a directive from Gov. Kathy Hochul in her 2026 State of the State address.
In it, she instructed the commission to take action to prevent young people from downloading betting apps, creating accounts, or using others’ accounts on gambling platforms.
The commission also frames unlawful gambling as an economic drain on the state. Licensed operators generate tax revenue that funds schools, local governments, tribal communities and charitable organisations.
Unlawful operators, it argues, redirect that money to unaccountable offshore entities.
The campaign follows the commission’s introduction of broader regulatory measures in recent months.
This includes proposals to bar licensed sports wagering operators from using artificial intelligence to target bettors. It would also establish activity triggers requiring operators to check on patrons who may show signs of gambling harm.
The Risky Bet platform also comes amid intensifying conflict between the state and federal regulators over who governs online wagering.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued New York on 24 April, seeking to prevent it from enforcing its gambling laws against prediction market operators, which it says are federally registered and protected companies.
The federal agency has filed similar actions against Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
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