With NY sports betting sites now live, what happens to sports bettors in the state when they can’t use the app as expected. Less than 48 hours in, and bettors are reporting numerous issues with sports betting apps. How can you seek help?
A New York sports bettor downloaded Caesars Sportsbook in New York. He signed up for Caesars and redeemed his $300 welcome bonus easily enough. However, he continued getting error messages when he tried to deposit funds. His wife called Caesars customer service and discovered that she was 1,800th in line. By the time she moved to 1,700, her call timed out.
But this wasn’t because Caesars Sportsbook is unable to process deposits. This user’s issue was that his credit card was linked to his PayPal account. Many major credit cards still block direct deposits to gambling sites. So, relying on a credit card as a funding source is inadvisable.
BetMGM Sportsbook NY is also now live in the state as of Monday, January 17, 2022. NY bettors can claim a $1,000 bonus bet using BetMGM NY bonus code SHARP.
NY Sports Betting Launch – 5.8 Million Transactions And Counting
New York also had higher volumes than many analysts predicted. During its first 12 hours live, New York saw about 2.5 times more sportsbook transactions than other popular sports betting markets. GeoComply Managing Director of Gaming, Lindsay Slader, released these figures on LinkedIn:
New York’s mobile sportsbooks had to adjust to the sudden influx of new customers. They likely weren’t expecting betting volumes that blew other major markets out of the water. It shouldn’t be surprising that customer service wait times increased so dramatically.
After the first full weekend of mobile sports betting, Slader posted updated figures:
“Another record-breaking day for New York online sports betting! GeoComply‘s weekend geolocation volumes for the Empire State totaled 17.2M. Volumes from NYC’s 5 boroughs alone exceeded 8M – larger than any other standalone state total within the US.”
So, New York’s first weekend of mobile sports betting was a resounding success.
Because customer service lines will likely remain long in a new and popular sports betting market, here are a few other common customer service problems that New York bettors could face and what their solutions are.
Identity Verification Issues
Identity verification is one of the most important security features on any sportsbook. It ensures that bettors are who they say they are. Identity verification also ensures that sportsbooks never accept money from money launderers or prohibited bettors.
For most bettors, identity verification is easy. Bettors enter the last four digits of their Social Security Numbers, names, and addresses, and that’s the end of it. Some sportsbooks require bettors to upload a government-issued ID or a utility bill as part of their standard registration processes.
However, some sportsbooks will require bettors to reach out to customer support if their identities can’t be confirmed. Some bettors will run into these issues with out-of-state addresses. Others may make the mistake of using a nickname to register rather than their legal names.
If bettors run into this issue, sportsbooks will give bettors their next steps. It may include uploading additional documentation. For some unfortunate bettors, it may mean calling customer service. Given the long wait times for customer service, bettors should ensure their information is correct or use their local New York addresses to register.
New York,
We are aware of the current service interruption and we’re working to get everything back up and running quickly.
We appreciate your patience and the support all day!
— Caesars Sportsbook (@CaesarsSports) January 9, 2022
Long Withdrawal Times On NY Sports Betting Sites
Bettors who won big during New York’s first NFL Sunday may be frustrated to find how much longer withdrawals take than deposits. This is due to two major reasons.
The first reason is not the fault of sportsbooks. Sportsbooks are bound by strict anti-money laundering laws that ensure money is not paid out to money launderers, terrorists, or other criminals. So, sportsbooks are much more careful about awarding money than it is about accepting it.
The second reason is that sportsbooks must approve withdrawals before they can be processed. For bets large and small, this process is often carried out manually by employees. Payment processing companies are working to automate small wagers from known players. Bettors should watch for that feature during 2022. But they should also be prepared to wait for three to ten business days depending on their withdrawal methods.
NY Betting App Outages
When Caesars Sportsbook briefly went down during its New York launch. It was only down for a few hours and is back online and functional. The only thing that bettors can do during an app crash is to wait it out. Bettors can also use another sportsbook during an app’s downtime.
The app outage was likely a one-time issue related to the surge in bettor traffic from New York. New York’s first day of mobile sports betting saw more transactions in a single day than any other online sports betting market, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bettors should be aware of the possibility of app crashes in sports betting’s early days in New York. But over time, bettors should become less and less worried about it.
New York’s Mobile Sports Betting Popularity
New York mobile sports betting’s popularity caused some customer service issues during New York’s opening weekend. But bettors can solve some of the most pressing issues without having to call customer service.
Deposit issues can probably be solved by avoiding credit cards at any stage of the deposit process. Bank transfers and online wallets are more reliable.
Bettors must also be prepared for long withdrawal times. Processing withdrawals remain a manual process. Features that change that for small bettors with known histories are still weeks to months away. So, bettors shouldn’t wager money they can’t afford to have tied up in a sportsbook account. (Bettors shouldn’t do that during normal times, either.)
Finally, bettors may experience app outages due to both the high and growing number of bettors using sportsbook apps in New York. New York’s betting volumes are higher than expected. So, bettors will have to bear with their sportsbooks. New Yorkers were more active in their first 12 hours of mobile sports betting than anticipated.
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