Ever since Gov. Cuomo’s statement endorsing mobile sports betting, New York has been viewed as the next big state despite already having retail sports betting legalized. There is a large market that is untapped here and some of them are traveling to New Jersey to bet online. Between the Covid-19 pandemic and Cuomo’s political troubles, there hasn’t been much talk about sports betting over the last few months. However, that has changed with New York rolling out the final budget this week. This is certainly a positive for New York and those within the state lines or near state lines when it comes to sports betting.What’s Included In The Bill?
The mobile sports betting bill would allow 14 mobile sportsbooks within the state. Each casino would be allowed to have two online sportsbook licenses, making every one of age to be able to freely choose their sportsbook and be able to wager on a desktop or mobile platform. There are seven retail casinos within the state of New York, but all of them reside in upstate New York. This is where the market was being missed, as 75% of the state was not being targeted.
It will not be cheap to acquire a license as New York wants $12 million upfront for each operator. In other states, there is a smaller upfront fee and then a renewal fee each year. With the budget certainly in a crisis and the state in need, they are looking for money instantly. There are also taxes on retail sportsbooks for 8.5% and 12.5% for mobile sportsbooks. These are a bit lower in comparison to some other legalized states, likely to help balance the enormous licensing fees. With multiple proposals and deals flying around, the state does have some cleaning up to do when it comes to who is overseeing all of this.
What Happens Next?
With the budget deadline just a few weeks away, the proposals need to be finalized and cleared before anything can move forward. New York’s budget is very complicated and if sports betting is not even an average priority, there is a chance nothing gets finalized and the state will have to address it again next year. However, with the state in dire need of multiple revenue sources, they will likely take a focus on sources of income. Some differences will have to be agreed upon between the Senate, General Assembly, and Gov Cuomo.
If everything goes smoothly and they hammer out all of the final details, sportsbooks have already been sniffing the waters in New York given the massive market it will bring. As usual, the ideal start times for online sportsbooks are before the NFL season starts. This will give time over the summer for the market to expand and also for those to get accustomed to mobile and online betting.
