Is Sports Gambling Legal In New York
- Senator Joseph Addabbo is behind Senate Bill 17 which would make mobile sports betting legal in New York.
- The Coronavirus has caused the state to be $17 billion in debt for which a sports betting revenue stream could help.
- New York sports bettors give most of their business to neighboring states with mobile sports betting platforms like Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
NEW YORK – New YorkState Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. sat down with LegalSportsBetting to discuss the sports betting market in New York and more importantly, the potential legalization of mobile sports betting in the state.
Senate Bill 17 also known as NY S17D would make internet and mobile sports betting platforms legal in the Empire State.
The New York State Legislature is currently holding their hearings for this session via Zoom style outlets due to the Coronavirus pandemic with the possibility of holding meetings in Albany in the Fall per Addabbo.
New York Online Sports Betting Legal online sports betting and mobile apps in New York It took some time, but New York sports betting emerged in late 2018, finally. However, restrictions on the product limited its full potential. Despite this, New Yorkers can enjoy retail sports betting at the state’s four commercial casinos and tribal. Yes, sports betting is legal in the state of New York. However, it is only legal at the physical casinos located in Upstate New York. You can use your mobile phone to bet, but only while you are on the premises of the casino. Mobile sports betting is not legal state wide.
On June 10, 2019, the New York State Gaming Commission approved rules and regulations to allow sports betting in the Empire State. While this news might seem positive, New York residents may need to temper their excitement for the time being. The approved activity is limited to New York’s four commercial casinos and Indian casinos. The biggest change in recent year to the gambling laws of New York, is the legalization of sports betting. The state is currently rolling out its first legal sports betting infrastructure. In terms of laws that are going to affect the individual gambler. The legal gambling age in New York is 18+ years of age. However, many gambling locations.
Addabbo Brings Facts And Figures
Senator Addabbo is no stranger to the legal sports betting industry. He has been an advocate in New York on the topic with S17D and the possibilities it could bring to the state in terms of revenue after it’s been ravaged by the outbreak of COVID-19.
Is Sports Gambling Legal In New York Times
While Governor Andrew Cuomo hasn’t publicly stated in the past about being in favor of legal mobile sports betting platforms, the situation is unique.
“If you weren’t considering mobile sports betting legalization prior to the virus, I think the virus may put you in the position that you almost have to. The economic impact of the Coronavirus is not only for this year, it’s next year too. The idea here is we had a $7 billion deficit before the virus and then the virus hit us with another $10 billion,” said Addabbo. “Now we’re $17 billion in the red and we’re facing education cuts. A portion of our gaming revenue would go toward education, so we would be increasing education funds with mobile sports betting legalization. We’re also facing healthcare cuts, so how do you fend off some of these cuts? Look at the credible, significant, realistic money mobile sports betting would provide.”
Sports betting enthusiasts in the state would rather cross the bridge into New Jersey and use the Garden State’s mobile sportsbooks than take a drive upstate to participate in gambling on sporting events through retail sports betting locations.
That’s a huge financial loss to New York that the economy could use now more than ever.
Addabbo believes that if lawmakers were provided with facts and figures rather than a specific amendment to pass Senate Bill 17, they’d be able to see in black and white just how much the state is losing to their neighbor.
“I don’t think we need an amendment to the bill. I just think we need to talk about facts and figures. If we want to talk about how our neighboring state New Jersey takes $837 million of our money from New York because it’s easier to jump the border from New York to New Jersey and use your mobile phone than to take a drive upstate. We have illegal activity here that runs about a billion dollars, we could recoup that money.”
Many people that are opposed to the idea of mobile sports betting because of its accessibility and a connection to gaming addiction are misinformed.
People will find a way to gamble if they enjoy doing it. As with anything, people look for alternative routes in order to do what they like doing.
If mobile sports betting was made legal in New York, it could only help New Yorkers with addiction problems because it will be a regulated business that would offer help to residents with sports betting addiction issues.
“If you want to help a New Yorker with a gaming addiction, you can’t right now because they’re going to Jersey or they’re doing it illegally so how do you help a person that has a gaming addiction? You give them a safe, regulated way to do so. We are trying to work with the Governor’s office on this and we appreciate his methodical approach to certain things in New York. He said no to medical marijuana and now we have it, he said no to paid family leave and now we have it, so I’m hoping. I’m hoping he basically has an idea about rationally considering mobile sports betting this year.”
The 3 Unused New York Sports Betting Licenses
At the moment, there are three full gaming licenses available in New York. These are all-inclusive gaming licenses that will become active in 2023.
“If we could get them to become active now, that’s another $1.5 to roughly $3 billion that we can receive just from the licenses themselves. Anybody in the state can apply for those licenses and we do have two already existing racinos, so these are not old casinos, these are the electronic type gaming sites, they can apply and then we have others in the gaming industry who would love to have a full gaming license in New York near Manhattan.”
If the Governor wanted to, he could put these licenses to use this year.
Casino games and sportsbooks are what make these available licenses all-inclusive. Locations for these sportsbooks would be in New York City or at least within the region.
“So, this is big money. But the Governor would have to figure out a way to openly and transparently have these three licenses bid for and like I said this is something the Legislature could work on this year.”
“These licenses are separate and apart from the mobile sports betting bill. In my district, I have Resorts World Casino, it’s a racino, no live dealers, it basically no live dealers and it’s all electronics. They would love to have a full license so that they could do live table games and they’re ready. Resorts World is already undergoing a major expansion; hotel, new gaming floor site, the square footage, they’re ready, they want this license, they’re ready.”
“We also have MGM in Yonkers, they have a site that’s a racino and again, they would love it and they have roughly about 100 acres, anywhere from 80 to 100 acres of vacant land that they say once we get this license and MGM can do it, once they get the license, they’re going to expand. They’re going to do the hotel, they’re going to do everything. So you have two already operating operators in downstate New York that if given these licenses would see a boom and huge expansion for job growth, economics, and educational funding.”
“These three licenses and that third license, we’d have to figure out where it goes, somewhere within the city or downstate region but when we talk about these three licenses its significant revenue, it’s significant job growth and job potential, and of course, educational funding. These licenses are currently in discussion this year but how earnest the discussion is, how serious, it remains to be seen. The lower hanging fruit, the more obtainable topic would be mobile sports betting that we can certainly do this year.”
Will Mobile Sports Betting Become Legal This Year In New York?
With the time that the state is being given with the lull in sports as well as the general shut down of most everything, mobile sports betting is a topic that can be discussed and actually pass.
Everything can be done with the “plan, pass, and prepare” method that Addabbo has come up with. They can strategically plan out all of the factors that go into mobile sports betting and then pass the bill.
Once it’s passed, the market can then prepare while the sports world gets back on their feet. Addabbo has been trying to work with the Governor’s office in an effort to get mobile sports betting as a legal pastime in the Empire State in 2020.
“We have a Zoom session next week, we can do this via Zoom or we can do this where we resume, hopefully maybe in the Fall in person in Albany but the idea here is that the need for revenue is a real dire need and we can do this. If passed, mobile sports betting could launch in 2020. I’m an optimistic person and when the Governor wants to do something, we do it. I think if the Governor gets behind this and says we really need the revenue.”
Getting this done in 2020 makes for a better overall outcome in New York rather than waiting to talk about the topic in the future.
If the state waits on the issue, problems may arise. Currently, without legal mobile sports betting, New York cannot regulate the online sports bettors in their state.
“So, in the meantime, the illegal activity starts, the addiction grows, Jersey takes our money, Pennsylvania takes our money, soon to be Connecticut, I mean come on. Right now our estimates are anywhere from $160 to $200 million and that’s for this year between the licensing, fees, and the taxes. But then they say the bottom line is, it’s New York. Our population, at 19 million is twice that of New Jersey, our tourism is twice that of New Jersey, we have leagues that have their headquarters in New York, not New Jersey, in New York.”
“The fanbase alone with the league and professional teams we have in New York shows that fans go to New Jersey to use mobile sports betting when they can actually stay here and do it and the idea for mobile betting is the potential for revenue in New York. To me, the estimate that I give might be on the conservative low end, might be. I just think there’s great potential here, I do. I think it’s a great time to consider this, to plan this and do it right. Mobile sports betting is a short term and long term policy, we do short term to figure out some revenue but if you do it right it’s a long term game it really is.”
The Endgame
After speaking with Addabbo, New York may very well have a great shot at legalizing mobile sports betting in 2020.
The financial gains alone could help a state that is in dire need of funds due to the Coronavirus pandemic. If for nothing else, the education system wouldn’t need to sustain cuts as they would receive funding with revenue made by the mobile sports betting market.
If those three licenses were to become active now instead of in 2023, the sky’s the limit for the monetary potential to help the economy in the Empire State.
News tags: Andrew Cuomo Coronavirus COVID-19 interview Joseph Addabbo Joseph Addabbo MGM mobile sports betting New York New York NY S17D Resorts World Casino New York Senate Bill 17
Christina has been writing for as long as she can remember and does dedicated research on the newly regulated sports betting market. She comes from a family of sports lovers that engage in friendly bets from time to time. During the winter months, you can find Christina baking cookies and beating the entire staff at Mario Kart…the N64 version of course.
In 2013, a New York sports betting law was passed in anticipation of the Supreme Court removing federal restrictions on state-sponsored sportsbooks. In 2018, SCOTUS finally struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, giving the Empire State the ability to start operating sportsbooks. The 2013 New York sports betting law was very limited in scope, and because of this, new legislation is sure to be passed in the near future.
To fully understand how New York sportsbooks are able to operate in the state, we have outlined what you need to know about the New York sports betting law currently on the books. With our sports betting bill tracker, you’ll be able to keep track of any new bills coming to the floor, as well as learn of any new New York sports betting laws that get passed.
The New York sports betting law, which was passed in 2013, outlines pretty basic things for the operation of sports betting in the state. Now, most of the bill contains information for the operators of these facilities, so we’ve gone ahead and picked apart the legislation in order to give you just the relevant parts of the 2013 New York sports betting law. If you’d like to take a look at the New York Economic Development Act yourself, it can be found under New York’s 2013 Consolidated Laws, Chapter 174, Article 13.
Title 8 of this law is especially pertinent to sports bettors in the Empire State. This part of New York’s sports betting law outlines where legal sports wagering can take place in the state. According to subsections (b & d), “(b) A sports pool shall be operated in a sports wagering lounge located at a casino.” “(d) An operator shall accept wagers on sports events only from persons physically present in the sports wagering lounge.”
These sections outline where and when sports betting can take place in New York. They have to be at a legally defined casino, of which there are four in the state. Subsection d specifically prohibits the use of online and mobile betting, as operators are only permitted to accept wagers from people who are present in person. Further down in New York’s sports betting law, you’ll find a timeline for when sportsbooks can begin operating in the state, should federal restrictions be lifted.
“In addition to authorized gaming activities, a licensed gaming facility may when authorized by subdivision two of this section operate a sports pool upon the approval of the commission and in accordance with the provisions of this section and applicable regulations promulgated pursuant to this article.” Essentially, sportsbooks can’t open until the New York Gaming Commission creates and approves regulations for the casinos to adhere to.
As you can see, the current New York sports betting law is relatively limited. You can only wager in person, and you can only wager at four commercial casinos in the state. Fortunately, there is currently a bill in both the Assembly and the Senate in New York. The Senate Bill is called SB 7900. The Assembly bill is called A 11144. They are identical in nature except for one small difference – SB 7900 states that the royalty fee for leagues should be set at .20 percent. A 11144 has it marked out as .25 percent. One of the bills will have to be amended to match the other before a single bill can become a New York sports betting law.
What these two bills seek to do is expand sports betting operations in New York. They would open operations not only in commercial casinos, but also in Racinos and Native American Casinos, through a partnership of the two venues. It would also allow for online sports betting to take place anywhere in the state – so long as sports bettors first set up their account in person at one of the sportsbooks. These New York sports betting bills set the tax rate at 8 percent for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, and 13% for online sports betting. Lawmakers have until June 20th to make these bills match and pass them off to Governor Andrew Cuomo for signature.
Can I Bet Online Under The Current New York Sports Betting Laws?
Under the current New York sports betting law, you cannot bet on sports online. It specifically states in Title 8 that operators of sports pools may only accept wagers in-person. NY lawmakers may change this in the future, but for now, online sports betting cannot be done through a New York Casino. There is nothing in the New York sports betting laws that make mention of online, offshore casinos, however. So if you want to bet on sports online or on a mobile device, you should head over to a trusted online, offshore book, like BetOnline or 5Dimes.
What Is The Legal Age To Bet On Sports In NY?
The legal age to bet on sports in New York is 21. This is the same age you would have to be to enter any one of the Casinos, Racinos, or Native American gaming facilities in the state, as well, so this shouldn’t come as any surprise to you. You can find the exact verbiage that outlines the legal sports betting age in subsection (e) of Title 8 in the 2013 New York sports betting law.
Will My Winnings From Sports Betting Be Taxed?
Yes, your winnings from any gambling in the state of New York will be taxed. The good news is the casinos almost always take 25% out of your winnings before giving you a payout, so you aren’t required to pay that at a later date, but if your winnings total over $5,000, you may be subject to income tax withholding. If taxes are taken out of your winnings, you’ll be sent a tax form, W2-G.
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