NY Wants Compromise In Regulated Mobile Sportsbook Legislation

• A mobile sports betting market in New York is getting closer to being included with the 2021 FY budget package.
• Governor Andrew Cuomo expects an estimated $500 million in yearly revenue from mobile sports betting in New York.
• The Oneida Nation believes any legislation for sports betting expansions being discussed should include them or their current Tribal Gaming Compacts will be void.

ALBANY, N.Y. – New York is behind on their budget proposal that was due on April 1 and was supposed to include regulated mobile sports betting revenue for the 2021 fiscal year. The Empire State has retail sportsbooks limited to the upstate area but there are no mobile platforms for residents to use to gamble on sports.

An expansion of the industry to include online and mobile sports wagering brought three proposals to the attention of the New York State Assembly, one of which was backed by Governor Andrew Cuomo himself.

The Compromise

Insiders say that mobile sportsbooks will be regulated in New York in 2021 and will be a part of the budget proposal package once it’s finalized by lawmakers. Cuomo wants an industry that is run by the state, allowing for a profit of at least 51% through mobile sports gaming applications.

The other two bills would give the bulk of the money to the establishments that have the platforms tethered to them with a very small percentage in comparison made for New York. However, plenty of discussions behind closed doors have given government officials time to try and combine the two formats in order to make everyone happy and give the Empire State a profitable sports wagering expansion.

“We have a conceptual agreement on all issues,” said Cuomo on Monday.

He expects an estimated $500 million in annual revenue from the sports betting market’s mobile platforms.

Tribal Pushback

Senate Bill 183 and Assembly Bill 1257 are the two bills that are not supported by Cuomo but they give the Oneida Nation the ability to join to mobile sports betting market through a clause in their paperwork. These are mirroring bills that give the Tribe the choice to be a part of the industry or not, leaving the choice up to them.

However, since coming up with a new piece of legislation to make Governor Andrew Cuomo and backers of the other two other measures happy, there is no word as to whether or not this is part of the new deal. Should the Tribes not see inclusion, that would void any Tribal Gaming Compacts with New York and any money being paid to the state annually would no longer need to be paid as the contracts that require it would fail to exist.

The Bottom Line

Regulated sports betting in the U.S. has really taken off financially when it has come to the mobile sportsbook sector of the markets. Should New York want to add this to their current industry, it would behoove them to include a stipulation for the Oneida Nation to opt-in or out of the market. Understandably, this might be difficult with the layout set forth by Cuomo, but if they’re currently in talks to blend the two plans, this would be the way many expect them to go about it.

More details will be made public as New York gets closer to the finalization of its already past due budget proposal for the 2021 fiscal year. But mobile sportsbooks look to be a good bet for passage in the Empire State in 2021, seeing the Garden State take a loss with all of the New Yorkers that presently use their mobile platforms to wager on sports.

News tags: Andrew Cuomo | Assembly Bill 1257 | New York | New York budget | New York State Assembly | Oneida Nation | Senate Bill 183