BetRivers NY Review

We are currently in the first wave of legalized online sports betting markets in New York, and there have been a few New York sportsbooks opening up since the start of 2022. Among those is BetRivers New York sportsbook, and we set about examining them to see how they do in comparison to other online sportsbooks around the world, and especially in comparison to their New York counterparts.

Our first impressions of BetRivers NY when we began our research was that they would classify in the no-frills, functional New York sportsbook category. We also looked at the user experience, their app, the BetRivers NY promo code and other offers, and put it all down in this piece. Without further ado, here is our BetRivers NY review.

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What we like about BetRivers sportsbook

• Easy user experience
• Responsible gambling resources are easy to find
• Can be a stepping stone for new sports bettors

What could improve about BetRivers sportsbook

• The interface design could be a touch more modern
• The withdrawal methods could increase
• The loyalty rewards program is too demanding

Our Rating: 4.4/5

BetRivers NY Online Sports Betting Launch

BetRivers NY launch date: 8 January, 2022 and before we dive into how BetRivers NY sportsbook came into the New York Sports betting scene, let’s have a look at the company behind this online sports betting operator.

BetRivers sportsbook NY is owned by Chicago-based gaming and casino company Rush Street Interactive. They were founded in 2012 as a retail player and have since then built a solid empire in in-person real-money gaming. They own the Rivers Casino Schenectady, and other Rivers Casino properties in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, DesPlaines Illinois and the French Lick Casino in Indiana – this is where BetRivers NY derives its name. Rush Street Interactive is also a major presence in legalized betting markets in Latin America, and has won awards for its platforms in that region.

So when the New York State Gaming Commission made its preliminary list of New York sportsbooks that would be allowed to operate in the area, it was a no-brainer that Rush Street Interactive would be among the players associated with the launch. They were among the nine sportsbooks who were approved by the NYSGC, and announced that they would be launching their NY BetRivers sportsbook on January 8, 2022. That made BetRivers New York sportsbook among the first NY sportsbooks to be launched

Is BetRivers Legal In New York?

Yes it is. BetRivers NY and the BetRivers NY app are fully licensed and regulated, and operate under the approval of the NYSGC. In 2018, the US Supreme Court had struck down a federal ban on sports betting, and in the same year, online sports betting in New York became a very possible reality. Since then, the New York state senate has been proactive in looking after the budding online sports betting industry in New York and is even considering serious tax cuts for online sportsbooks in the sports betting bill that is currently being discussed. So BetRivers NY and other New York sportsbook players are all being gently pushed into the mainstream, with support from relevant authorities. Anyone on that initial NYGSC list of New Yorks sportsbooks is operating a legal and secured business.

In Which States Is BetRivers Legal?

As of March 2022, BetRivers sportsbook is legal in the following states:

Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

This list is likely to become expansive as the US embraces online sports betting. The states mentioned above are first-movers in the revolution, and will no doubt encourage more and more states to make use of the legal paths that are no available to legitimize online betting. So keep this BetRivers NY review bookmarked – we will be updating it as more and more states get on the list.

BetRivers New York Features

Cash-out

Most professional sports bettors will tell you about the importance of wager management, discipline, and the ability to see when you are headed for losses. So if you are among the novice New York sports bettors who are still learning the ropes in the world of sports betting through BetRivers online sportsbook, you must learn to be aware about how to get out of a bet that is headed for a loss.

Thankfully, BetRivers NY offers a pretty prominent and effective cash-out option. If you think one of your bets is headed for a loss and want to exit, check your bet slip, and any bets that are eligible to for the cash-out option should be marked through an orange indicator. Click on that bet, and you will see how much of your stake is eligible for return. Be wary though, using the cash-out is a skill in itself. You don’t want to make any premature decisions that end in heartbreak if your desired betting outcome does indeed turn out to be true.

In-Play Live Streaming

Like most top-line NY sportsbooks, BetRivers New York also offers live betting markets. And like any good sportsbook, BetRivers NY clubs it with live streaming of some matches. There is a dedicated ‘live’ section on both the website and the BetRivers NY app which gives you a list of all events that are eligible for live betting. These games usually come attractive prop bets, extremely granular points or goals or time-based outcomes, and also various straight bet options. While the streaming side of things will be limited to niche sports or small tournaments, it is a nice little addition for those of us who can identify patterns of play and make relevant bets.

Boosted Odds

BetRivers sportsbook NY regularly runs boosted odds promotions for their bets. You don’t need any kind of promo code to partake in these – they just appear as regular odds on various games, some of which will be marked as having a boosted payout. Pick such bets, put in your staked amount, and if you win, your payout could be boosted by up to 20%. Easy peasy.

Same Game Parlay Bets

BetRivers NY didn’t have a great start in terms of their same game parlays. Lots of users reported that most parlay bets were pre-built, which meant that you did have parlays during individual games, but didn’t really give New York sports bettors the option to build and customize the parlays. They have slowly moved away from that and you can, now, build same game parlays of the type that you want. Once again, the range and availability is a bit limited, but the building tool is a pretty slick and easy one to use.

Jackpot Parlays

Part of the reason BetRivers New York sportsbook has done better on the parlay front is because of their Jackpot Parlay feature. This is an inter-sport, inter-timeframe, potentially multi-day parlay tool which shows you an extremely lucrative pre-built bet, and then allows you to customize it. Your potential winnings – which can sometimes be 1000x – are displayed and you can switch things around to suit the parlay you want to make. You can tinker with the tool which also gives you other automated parlay options based on how many legs and how long you want it to last, all while displaying the potential payout.

BetRivers Sportsbook New York Website Experience

Rights off the bat, the BetRivers sportsbook website is more a throwback to classic Web 1.0 than a tribute to modern design habits. There are big banners, plenty of baseball card type graphics that show off their promos, and the site is generally not very friendly in terms of reducing the scrolling to find things on the site. This is a far cry from the other top rated betting sites in New York which offer far more stream lined websites.

On the flip side, this sort of design is something users are used to through many years of being on the internet, and the learning curve is pretty small. Fonts are prominent, finding their featured bets or matches is easy because it is generally front and center, and while the navigation bar could have a few additional links, the search feature is good enough for you to go and find your desired sport or event.

One thing we commend BetRivers sportsbook for, though, is that their responsible gambling resources and their help and support sections are side by side and visible right at the top of the page. Many New York sportsbooks sacrifice this very important part of modern betting in their bids for a more bespoke design.

What we liked about the BetRivers sportsbook New York website:

• Easy reading on various sized screens
• No learning curve with the traditional layout
• Responsible gambling resources available right at the top

What could be better about the BetRivers sportsbook New York website:

• ‘Real Money Winners’ newsfeed ticker in the right column can feel a bit spammy and clickbaity to new bettors
• Sports discoverability is pretty low
• May scrolls required to get around the website

BetRivers NY App Experience

The BetRivers New York app did not have a promising start at the time of launch, with several reviews talking about lags, deposit troubles, and so on. In its early days, it was also only available on the Google Play Store, while on iOS you would have to use the mobile website in your browser. A lot of those early issues have been steadily fixed, and the BetRivers New York app is now available on both the Google Play Store and the iOS app store.

In terms of design and interface, it isn’t too different from the website. This is because it is quite evidently a scaled down version of the website. The BetRivers NY app, just like its desktop counterpart, doesn’t win too many points from us for design. But it holds up okay during live betting, the banking issues seem to have stabilized, and their ratings on the various stores have had a steady uptick after a lot of initial complaints.

What we liked about the BetRivers sportsbook New York app:

• Short learning curve if you’ve previously used the website
• Loading times and screen changes happen at a decent pace
• Live betting and streaming on par with other sports betting apps

What could be better about the BetRivers sportsbook New York app:

• A more streamlined BetRivers app, that isn’t mostly a mini-version of the website
• You might need to download a third-party geolocator app for them to verify your location

BetRivers NY Bonus Code & Other Promotions

BetRivers NY has a host of different offers, including a deposit bonus and a very robust rewards program. Some New York-based companies specialize in negotiating the best bonuses and promotions directly from sportsbooks. You should check out NYG for the best BetRivers NY promo available each week. We’ve listed some of their most recent offers below for you.

BetRivers New York Bonus Code For First Deposit Match Bonus

Granted, it’s not a welcome bonus that is on the levels of some of the bigger New York sportsbooks who have deep pockets, but the a $250 deposit match bonus is still a pretty good start for new sports bettors. Once you’ve registered, you simply have to make a minimum deposit of $10 using the Betrivers NY bonus code 250MATCH and your Betrivers sign up bonus is fully activated. There is also an alternate Betrivers New York bonus code you can use: RIVERSNY.

Anu deposit you make between the value of $10 to $250 will be matched by BetRivers NY. The deposit bonus comes in the form of $250 credits, which will sit in your account and can be activated any time, with the caveat that you must use up the credits within 30 days of using them for the first time. Another caveat, which is pretty standard in the industry, is that this deposit bonus can only be used on events with odds of -200 or longer.

This doesn’t quite match up to the heights of risk free bets that most competitors offer, but it is still up to $250 of free money. In theory, at least. And any free money on a sportsbook is useful money. This furthers our belief that BetRivers NY is perfect for inexperienced sports bettors.

Profit Boosts & Odds Boosts

BetRivers NY has a host of profit boosts available in its promo sections, which generally come as a pattern. In general, major sports are assigned particular days on which bets on them will have profit boosts. So, for instance, in early April 2022, there are 20% profit boosts on NHL games every Friday. This could apply to other sports on other days as well, so keep your eyes peeled to spot these boosts. Similar to the profit boosts are the BetRivers odds boosts, which also work in similar patterns. They’re either available on particular sports or on particular days. When major tournaments are on, they even offer odds boosts daily. You simply have to keep an eye out on the standards listed odds, and some of them will be boosted to give you better payouts.

iRush Rewards Loyalty Program

Most sportsbooks do not offer loyalty programs by default, so it is a big plus that there is a Betrivers loyalty program available. This is a pretty easy to track loyalty program – made easier by their progress meter, or progress bar. There are up to 10 tiers in the loyalty program and an 11th invite-only tier that is the elite tier.

You pick up 1 loyalty point for every $6 single bet, or for every 2-bet combination of $2, and so on. The downside is that these points are not static and can reduce if you don’t keep up your frequency of earning them in the first place. This counts as a bit of a downer for us, as the penalties happen within a 30-60 day cycle.

On the other hand, it is understandable. Only the most frequent and loyal users are going to considered worthy of the rewards – free or discounted bets, faster withdrawals, BetRivers swag, and several other offerings in their bonus store.

What Kind Of Bets Are Available At BetRivers Sportsbook New York?

Straight Bets

You must do the simple things right and BetRivers NY manages to do that with its straight bets. In short, these are bets on singular result-oriented outcomes of the most popular types: moneylines, spreads, totals, over/under all come under this classification, and are the most widely placed bets in the world. They’re the bets for the masses who don’t want to delve too deep into analytics or crunch data all the time. And so, they must be simple to both find and place – BetRivers sportsbook NY gets this part spot on.

Prop Bets

Prop bets, short for proposition bets, go a little more deep than straight bets. They, quite literally come in the form of propositions. For instance, will Cristiano Ronaldo score a goal in the second half? Will Roger Federer serve an ace in the 5th game?

Prop bets can be found in both regular betting as well as during live betting, and generally require a deeper understanding of the sport. They can also be tremendously fun, particularly if you land an outlandish prop, because they offer signifcantly higher returns than straight bets. BetRivers sportsbook has a large array of prop bets, particularly for all the major American sports.

Live Betting

We’ve already touched upon the in-play live streaming earlier in this piece, but it is worth pointing out that the live betting feature that happens alongside the stream is pretty streamlined.

The live betting feature is housed under their ‘live’ section, typically found in the left column. As with most sportsbooks, it is a bit of a challenge to find streams for all major sports, because of the obvious TV and streaming rights issues that are a big deal in the sporting world. You can, however, still get play-by-play updates and stats tickers for those games for which BetRivers NY does not have streaming rights, and you will still be able to access the full depth of prop bets alongside the moneyline bets. This is not always available in live betting for some of the more obscure leagues around the world, but it is a harmless trade-off.

Same Game Parlays

Unlike many New York sportsbooks, BetRivers NY markets their same game parlays with some gusto. This is perhaps because of the early pushback they got on their parlays feeling limited. Whatever it is, they’ve come up with the ‘Same Game Parlay Feature’ on the site, as they call it.

In essence, it is a pop up that helps you set up the multiple legs of your parlay, by first asking you how many legs you want and then allowing you to choose them. While it is called Same Game Parlay – SGP, for short on the BetRivers app – this feature also helps you place multi-game parlays according to BetRivers NY’s promos page.

BetRivers NY Sportsbook: List Of Sports

If you’re a total sports nut who likes to keep tabs on multiple sports across the world in multiple time zones, all your work and research may not count for much on the BetRivers New York sportsbook. At least not right now, in their teething stage. BetRivers NY is very much the betting destination for New York sports bettors, and by extension, American sports bettors.

You will find most major sports and leagues covered by them but, say, a Singaporean basketball league, or East European soccer may not feature in their books very often. So keep that in mind – this is a destination primarily for American sports.

• NFL Football
• NCAA Football
• NBA Basketball
• NCAA Basketball
• NHL Hockey
• NCAA Hockey
• MLB Baseball
• NCAA Baseball
• Boxing
• Cricket
• Snooker
• Table Tennis
• Darts
• Golf
• MMA
• Motor Racing
• Volleyball
• Rugby
• Soccer
• Tennis

BetRivers New York Deposit And Withdrawal Methods

This is one of the areas in which BetRivers New York leaves a lot of its local competition in the dust. Just to recap, the New York State Gaming Commission made a list on nine sportsbooks in 2021 that would be fully authorized to run online sports betting platforms.

This meant that those nine sportsbooks had the full support of all relevant authorities, and the chance to form meaningful partnerships with established financial institutions. But not all of them did. BetRivers NY, however, did make the effort to secure multiple banking methods.

Deposit Methods

All deposits are instant and free.

• Wire transfer
• Visa
• Mastercard
• PayNearMe
• BetRivers Play + Card
• Cash at Rivers Casino Schenectady

Withdrawal Methods

Despite their multiple available methods of deposits, it falls a little short on withdrawals. BetRivers is a bit hit-or-miss with their withdrawal processing times too. The only withdrawal methods which are instant are the ones through their own offerings – the BetRivers Play+ Card and the in-person betting windows or kiosks at their retail casinos. We find this a little disappointing when players like BetMGM New York have managed to bring partners like PayPal and Skrill on board.

• Wire transfer (2-5 day processing time)
• BetRivers Play+ Card (instant)
• Cash at Rivers Casino Schenectady (instant)
• Check via mail (10-14 business days)

This is one of the areas in which BetRivers New York leaves a lot of its local competition in the dust. Just to recap, the New York State Gaming Commission made a list on nine sportsbooks in 2021 that would be fully authorized to run online sports betting platforms.

This meant that those nine sportsbooks had the full support of all relevant authorities, and the chance to form meaningful partnerships with established financial institutions. But not all of them did. BetRivers NY, however, did make the effort to secure multiple banking methods.

Deposit Methods

All deposits are instant and free.

• Wire transfer
• Visa
• Mastercard
• PayNearMe
• BetRivers Play + Card
• Cash at Rivers Casino Schenectady

Withdrawal Methods

Despite their multiple available methods of deposits, it falls a little short on withdrawals. BetRivers is a bit hit-or-miss with their withdrawal processing times too. The only withdrawal methods which are instant are the ones through their own offerings – the BetRivers Play+ Card and the in-person betting windows or kiosks at their retail casinos. We find this a little disappointing when players like BetMGM New York have managed to bring partners like PayPal and Skrill on board.

• Wire transfer (2-5 day processing time)
• BetRivers Play+ Card (instant)
• Cash at Rivers Casino Schenectady (instant)
• Check via mail (10-14 business days)

BetRivers New York Sportsbook: Sign up process

Making a BetRivers sportsbook account is a pretty straightforward process. It is also a delightfully familiar process, which is among the things that are non-negotiable these days. Any service with a complex sign-up process is going to lose customers right from their first click. This was not remotely the case during our signing up process on BetRivers NY sportsbook.

1. The orange ‘join now’ button is easy enough to find on the top-right-hand corner of the website, and is more prominently in the center on the app.
2. Unlike some other sportsbook onboarding processes, the first step on BetRivers NY begins with the username and password rather than your other details. You are also likely to spot an Affiliate Code box, an optional box that is meant to reward any of the influencers or websites who helped you find BetRivers. This is NOT where you put in your BetRivers promo code, or bonus code. Those will be used at the time of the deposit.
3. You then provide your personal identification details – your full name, address, mobile number, and the last 4 digits of your SSN. We’ve mentioned earlier that BetRivers NY is a fully regulated and licensed sportsbook, which means it must adhere strictly to data protections and privacy laws in New York. So this information is going to be stored safely.
4. A plus point for us during the sign-up process is that the security doesn’t stop at questions and answers. You are given the option to enable 2-factor authentication to add an extra layer of verification and security to protect your deposits and winnings.

BetRivers New York FAQs