Mobile Sports Betting Is Going To Be An Uphill Battle In New York
Editor Update: New York online sports betting apps are fully legal and available to sports fans located in state lines. The rest of this post contains outdated information, we will keep it published for historical reference.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget includes an expansion of sports betting but stops far short of statewide mobile wagering.
The governor’s budget calls for an expansion of legal sports betting outside of dedicated lounges at authorized New York casinos, but still limits it to within the casino:
Amend Sports Wagering Lounge Restrictions. Current law requires that wagering on sports be exclusively operated in a casino’s designated sports wagering lounge. The Budget ends this restriction by allowing for sports wagering outside the lounge, but still within the casino, per Gaming Commission regulations.
It’s unclear if this means betting kiosks, on-site mobile wagering, or a combination of the two. Based on the governor’s previous comments and policy positions, the former is more likely than the latter.
A (Missed) Golden Opportunity
According to research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, New York will realize just 5% of its full potential under the status quo.
“The reality is that consumers want convenient ways to bet, and the status quo for sports betting in New York is anything but.” Chris Grove, managing director of E&K, told New York Upstate in November 2019. “If the state is serious about siphoning off demand from the illegal market and generating real tax revenue, it needs to add online sports betting to the mix.”
And the state needs full-scale mobile wagering, as on-property mobile (as well as betting kiosks) would result in a trivial increase in revenue.
New Jersey Is Happy to Fill the Void
In addition to illegal bookmakers and offshore sportsbooks, New York’s struggles to pass a mobile sports betting bill is an ongoing gift to NJ sportsbooks.
New Jersey derived nearly 85% of its sports betting revenue via mobile sports betting in 2019. Estimates vary (and run as high as 25%), a significant chunk of that revenue is coming from New Yorkers taking the short trip across the George Washington Bridge to place wagers before returning to the city.
New York would not only recapture that lost revenue, but it would also lead to an uptick from commuters that reside in New Jersey and work in New York City – a far more likely occurrence than the reverse.
What’s the Hold-Up?
Other than the 11th-hour passage of a daily fantasy sports bill in 2016, New York has struggled to keep up with other states as they modernize their gaming industries with the addition of online betting options.
A skeptical governor, along with skeptical members of the Assembly (including Speaker Carl Heastie), derailed last year’s mobile sports betting efforts, as well as the state’s multi-year effort to legalize online poker.
With an April 1 deadline, New York’s budget is typically finalized in late March, so there’s still plenty of time for negotiations. That said, Cuomo’s and Heastie’s opposition to mobile gambling appears to be sincere and unlikely to change during the upcoming presidential election cycle.
Cuomo isn’t up for reelection, and Heastie’s seat is safe, but historically, passing legislation (particularly hot button issues like gaming expansion) is more difficult in election years. Lawmakers tend to cling to core values and avoid rocking the boat with a potentially controversial vote.
Steve Ruddock is the content director for BettingUSA and the Editor-in-Chief of Gaming Law Review.
Steve has covered the legal and legislative developments in the US gambling sector for more than a decade for online and print publications.
