New York Moves Mobile Sports Betting Bills With Senate Approvals

• The New York State Legislature has approved two mobile sports betting bills that have moved them out of their first Senate Committee successfully.
• New York expects to see millions of dollars in revenue should these bills or others like it pass in 2021 that would allow mobile sportsbooks in the state.

NEW YORK – Two bills to legalize mobile sports betting in New York have received their first set of approvals within the Senate on Wednesday.

Recently, Governor Andrew Cuomo has gone public on his stance to make mobile sportsbooks in the Empire State a legal outlet.

However, the legislation that has been approved in the Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee on Wednesday is not on par with how Governor Cuomo would like to see the new industry run, should it become legalized in 2021.

The Bills On The Move

Senate Bill 1183 and Assembly Bill 1257 were both passed to move onto the Finance Committee after their first of what will be many approvals needed on their trajectory to becoming law.

These bills would allow for 14 internet and mobile sports betting platforms that would be available to New Yorkers statewide.

The four commercial sportsbooks in upstate New York along with three Tribal facilities would be given licenses for two mobile operations each, making up the cap of 14 online sports betting platforms.

Prior to the launch of any of these outlets, $168 million stands to be gained in revenue profits to the state due to a $12 million application fee required by all interested parties. It is the hope of Assemblyman Gary Pretlow and Senator Joe Addabbo Jr., the main sponsors of these two bills that the upfront profits from the required fees will have lawmakers vote in favor of their proposals for passage.

As far as tax rates on revenue are concerned, there is a 12% cut stipulated for internet and mobile sportsbooks and 8.5% at land-based sportsbooks. Five percent of all tax revenue from both sides of the industry is earmarked to fund gambling addiction initiatives.

Other written parts within these drafts give New Yorkers the ability to register for online accounts remotely without requiring in-person registration as many other states have required for their internet gaming endeavors.

And another notable part of these two proposals is having professional sporting venues and off-track betting establishments eligible to open up sports wagering terminals at their locations as long as they are tethered to a licensed brick-and-mortar casino in the state.

What’s Next For New York

Bill sponsors have some very high hopes for how much activity they’d see in handle should their proposals become law. They estimate $2 billion a month in bets being placed by New Yorkers. While the Empire State is home to plenty of great sports organizations, that number seems to be quite a feat to reach monthly.

New Jersey, which does some of the very best business in sports betting in the nation, had a total handle of $6 billion for the 2020 year. That’s half of what New York expects to see.

Although Governor Andrew Cuomo now wants to see a legal mobile sports wagering market in his state, his vision differs from that of these bills. Cuomo would like an industry run through the lottery so that all the revenue goes to the state rather than have casinos benefit with the bulk of the money going to them should an industry be run through them instead of the lottery. In the Governor’s model, a yearly revenue of $500 million is projected to be seen with an estimated handle of $20 billion annually.

The New York State Legislature convened on January 6 and will adjourn on June 18.

Sports bettors in the state will know by June whether or not they will have legal mobile sportsbooks in 2021 available to them or if they will need to continue to trek across the bridge into New Jersey to access such platforms.

News tags: Andrew Cuomo | Assembly Bill 1257 | Gary Pretlow | Joe Addabbo Jr | New Jersey | New York | New York State Legislature | Senate Bill 1183