Sports Gambling Legalized In Ny
- New York State Prepares to Allow Sports Betting at Four Upstate Casinos New York has become the 14th state to formally legalize sports betting.
- ALBANY — One of the first legal sports bets made in New York was a $20 gamble on a team from Seattle. Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon) was at the front of the line at Rivers Casino &.
NY Online Sports Betting FAQ Are sports betting sites legal in the United States? In short, yes- sports betting sites are legal in the US, but each state has to individually legalize them. So far, legal online sports betting has become available in Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Iowa, Indiana and West Virginia.
Mobile NY sports betting will not make the state budget as legislators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo remain on opposite sides.
Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. tells Legal Sports Report that the Senate negotiating team brought up the inclusion of mobile New York sports betting and expediting three downtown casino licenses in the state budget and got back a firm “no.”
Lawmakers hoped to convince Cuomo to include mobile sports wagering in the budget as a way to address a $6 billion deficit. With additional state costs to combat the effects of the coronavirus and less tax revenue expected to come in next year because of the resulting economic shutdown, alternate revenue streams have increased importance.
“What is so astonishing is that we had a need for revenue before the virus crisis, and we’re still being asked to make cuts to health care,” Addabbo said. “Unbelievable. Totally irresponsible.”
Expedited NY budget process didn’t help
In a typical year, each NY legislative chamber comes out with a budget proposal in mid-March. Negotiations with the governor’s office over the next two weeks lead to a final budget approved on April 1.
Addabbo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow planned to include mobile NY sports betting and expedited downstate casinos in their one-house budgets. With the will of the legislature, legal opinions from top NY law firms on the constitutionality of authorizing mobile sports betting in New York and voter support, they hoped to convince the governor on budget inclusion.
Because of coronavirus concerns, the chambers scratched their one-house budget proposals and began negotiating with the governor early, with hopes of completing the budget this week.
Mobile always a long shot
It seems doubtful mobile sports wagering would have made the Assembly budget proposal anyway. Addabbo indicated that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie continues to stand with Cuomo opposing mobile wagering.
Addabbo feels he and Pretlow have addressed every issue Cuomo has brought up regarding allowing the activity, including constitutionality.
“All the governor and the speaker are doing is delaying the inevitable because mobile sports betting in New York is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ and we need the revenue now,” Addabbo said.
Future of mobile NY sports betting efforts
Addabbo says he will continue to promote mobile sports betting where he can until the budget is finalized, but it appears to be a lost cause.
“I believe we need to examine all credible revenue options regardless of any apprehensions,” he said. “We should be exploring both mobile and the three licenses given that the need for current and future revenue is evident.”
Addabbo said he would see what’s in the final budget and then strategize about how to move forward.
It is unclear if or when the New York Legislature will continue their session, scheduled to end June 2, after completing the budget. Three NY Assemblymembers have tested positive for the coronavirus.
If the legislature does return this year, lawmakers might look to begin the three-year process on a constitutional amendment to confirm the legality of mobile sports wagering.
The COVID-19 pandemic might be the spark that brings online or mobile sports betting to New York.
The Empire State launched its legal and regulated sports betting market in 2019, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been steadfast against the addition of mobile or online sports betting. Instead, he has chosen to throw his support behind the current structure of keeping betting restricted to just the four upstate commercial casinos and the rest of the tribal properties.
But as New York continues to keep some of the most burdensome restrictions in the country on its local economy, the state coffers are beginning to run dry. With many sectors of the economy shut down, some lawmakers have begun looking at online sports betting as a potential source of tax revenue, according to a report from Spectrum News.
“With businesses operating under socially distancing guidelines, health and safety restrictions and doing all or some of their business virtually and online, now is the time for New York to take the next step and move forward with mobile sports betting,” said Democratic Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara.
The Democrat is a sitting member of the Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee, representing Schenectady, home of Rivers Casino, one of the four commercial casinos in the state.
Cuomo shuttered the brick-and-mortar gambling industry in mid-March, along with the rest of the country, but kept his state’s commercial casinos closed much longer than the rest of the country. Casino workers staged a rally to reopen the properties before Cuomo finally allowed the market to operate again in mid-September, with several restrictions in place. Poker rooms at the commercial casinos are still closed.
Adding mobile and online sports betting to a market has shown to increase the viability of it. In New Jersey, sports bettors have been setting records with how much they are betting on sports. The overwhelming majority of the wagers have been placed through mobile apps.
Legalized Gambling Indiana
After falling short of revenue goals early in its market’s rollout in 2019, Rhode Island’s legislature decided to pass a second bill that would allow for online betting.