The Senate Racing, Gaming And Wagering Committee unanimously passed bill S17 to further pave the road for the introduction of mobile sports betting in the State of New York.

Better Luck the Second Time Around?

After initially being approved by the state senate in 2019, the bill hit the road block later on with the state assembly, but this development did not hinder the sponsor of the Bill and member of the aforementioned committee St. Sen. Joseph Addabbo to continue with his efforts to legalize mobile betting in the state.

To further support his case that mobile sports betting introduction will help the state budget, Addabbo pointed out the neighboring state New Jersey numbers compared to the NY ones, with a serious pick up in the former and a huge slump in the latter.

What is Actually On Offer Here?

According to Bill S17, holders of licenses for sports betting in New York will be allowed to introduce mobile sports wagering, including stadia betting operations, proposing to solve the constitutional conundrum by placing the mobile betting servers inside the casinos that are already legal for gambling.

For the growing state budget deficit, the sponsors of the bill propose an initial license fee of $12m and 8.5% tax on retail sports betting that could rise to 12% for mobile.

For the gambling operators the bill implies sourcing official league data for in-play wagers and an integrity fee of 0.20% on all wagers for the professional sports leagues, with tribal gaming operators required to partner with their commercial counterparts to get in on the mobile action scene.

His arguments though, did not find support in the 2020 State of the State Address, where State Governor Cuomo expressed serious reservations about the constitutionality of the bill legalizing mobile betting and the projections for financial gains.

On January 16, Cuomo is expected to propose the state budget, and expectations for it are for a gaping $6bln deficit, and if there is no mention of the proposed introduction of mobile betting, it will be a clear indication that his stance has not changed.

For Addabbo though, there will be plenty of time until April 1, the deadline for 2020 budget conversations, to try and sway the Governor in favor of his agenda.

In addition to mobile betting, the senator is strongly advocating for the three currently unused state casino licenses for facilities in the southern region of the state to be utilized.

The introduction of mobile betting is still uncertain, though the proposed bill passed the committee, as it is now facing the Senate Committee on Finance, with Governor’s right for veto the last of the series of hurdles ahead, but senator Addabbo feels optimistic about it and the future gains it will bring to the state and the people.

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Julie Moraine

Lead Author

With 4 years experience as an analyst, Julie—or ‘Jewels’, as we aptly refer to her in the office—is nothing short of a marvel-worthy in her attention to the forex and cryptocurrency space as she quickly became the first pick to co-pilot education to the masses with Mike.

Business January 15, 2020

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