NY Mobile Sports Betting Left Out Of Budget, Costing Millions

• Mobile sports betting was not included in New York’s latest approved budget.
• While inquiries were made regarding adopting mobile sports betting, the expedited legislative session will put them on hold for at least another year.
• New York is losing tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars to New Jersey annually.
• Fully supported sports betting in New York would be a multi-billion-dollar industry.

NEW YORK – New York’s budget for the 2020 fiscal year was finalized on Thursday, with mobile sports betting left conspicuously out. The lack of action on a New York mobile sports betting bill could cost the Empire State tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Given the fact that New York has become the epicenter of the American novel coronavirus outbreak, it is understandable that the state legislature would prioritize other issues.

But still, another year without mobile sportsbooks is going to cause New York to lose tens of millions of dollars to in sports betting revenue to New Jersey.

New York previously awarded the Spectrum Sports Group a bid to study the potential economic impact of online sports betting, but the results of their study won’t be available until June —too late to have an impact on 2020 legislation.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has stated previously that legalizing online sports gambling in New York would require an amendment to the state’s Constitution. With the legislative session expedited by the COVID-19 crisis, it simply wasn’t feasible to draft such an amendment.

Under the current laws, New York sports betting is limited to four licensed retail casinos and a handful of tribal casinos.

How Much Money Is New York Losing Without Mobile Betting?

In slightly under eight months of legal retail sports betting in New York, casinos made only $9.6 million in revenue from sports wagers—a per capita revenue figure of $0.85 per 12 months. For comparison, New Jersey earned $33.81 in sports betting revenue per capita in 2019.

Over 85% of New Jersey’s sports betting revenue comes from online and mobile bets—upwards of $30 million per month. A large reason for New Jersey’s runaway online sports betting success has been the prevalence of New York bettors placing mobile bets from within New Jersey’s borders.

FanDuel reported to Bloomberg News that at least 22 percent of its New Jersey revenue comes from bettors living in New York. Assuming this represents an average figure, that would mean that New York bettors generated $53.9 million in sports betting revenue in 2019.

When other convenience-related factors are taken into account, FanDuel CEO Matt King thinks that New York could be losing out on “tens of millions in tax revenue” with their lack of mobile betting options.

News tags: Andrew Cuomo | Coronavirus | COVID-19 | FanDuel | Matt King | New Jersey | New York | Spectrum Sports | Spectrum Sports Group