NY Bill Would Give Casinos A Single Online Sports Betting Skin

• New York could see mobile sportsbooks available by the Super Bowl if Bill S17D passes before the year ends.
• S17D would allow casinos to have one skin to open an online sportsbook in NY but there is the option for future expansions to add more operators.

NEW YORK – New Yorkers may see a legal mobile sports betting option coming to them in the near future. Currently, the Empire State only has limited land-based options in the upstate region which are not easily accessible to interested sports bettors statewide the way an internet sportsbook would be.

It’s become a common trend that people in New York, especially New York City, cross the bridge into New Jersey to place their wagers on sporting events using the mobile platforms available through the Garden State.

That’s all lost revenue for New York due to their lack of mobile/internet outlets. However, a new bill in the legislature from a familiar face could change that.

Current Progress For S17D

Bill S17D is the proposed legislation that would allow for legal mobile sports betting platforms in the state. At this point, the bill would allow for a single skin to be given to licensed retail establishments.

Senator Joe Addabbo Jr. has said that he’s drawn the bill up for a single skin as a way to ease mobile sports wagering into the state. It’s not set in stone to remain that way and is the hope of Addabbo that once the bill becomes legal, it will be able to expand to allow more operators the ability to provide their services across the state.

New York made land-based sportsbooks legal in 2019 (a maximum of seven, which they have) but nixed the idea of mobile sports wagers because they were deemed unconstitutional to the industry.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said that allowing internet sports wagers would be similar to that of an internet casino which was a complete violation of the constitution of New York.

“At first, the question was of the constitutionality of mobile sports betting in our state,” said Senator Addabbo. “But I think we’ve gone beyond the constitutionality issue because once you put the server that actually accepts the wager on the land of the licensed casino, you satisfy our constitutionality issue as well as the intent of the constitution.”

The Future Of Mobile Sports Betting In New York

New York is in need of any revenue streams they can get their hands on because of the havoc caused to their economy by the Coronavirus Pandemic. Mobile sports betting fits that bill as a viable revenue choice. Senator Addabbo believes that more skins (as in more operators) would be best to accumulate the most revenue and benefit the state in greater numbers.

However, the one skin within the bill is a mere stepping stone and helps lawmakers that may be dragging their feet on the issue to be more open to the idea to approve it with just one to start. That’s the strategy that Addabbo is going with to make this form of New York sports betting a reality.

In May, Addabbo spoke to LegalSportsBetting and said not only would additional operators bring in more revenue but the licensing fees they would need to pay the state to open their businesses would also add money toward the economy.

“Right now, our estimates are anywhere from $160 to $200 million and that’s for this year between the licensing, fees, and the taxes,” said Addabbo.

At the moment, legalization is still undergoing discussions. There is no word yet as to when more progress will take place to make Bill S17D legal in New York. While the hope is that it can be done by the year’s end and open up in time for the Super Bowl in 2021, like the one skin policy, nothing has been set in stone.

But one thing is certain, this is the most positive outlook New York has had to be able to finally have mobile sportsbooks and no longer have residents drive over the bridge and inflate New Jersey’s revenue just to put some action on the games.

News tags: Andrew Cuomo | Coronavirus pandemic | New York | S17D | Senator Joe Addabbo Jr | Super Bowl