While there is a budget deadline on April 1st, those in New York could still have mobile betting if they hit by the June deadline if they have a plan in place. There are still differences in how they want to go about mobile sports betting. The state did already legalize sports betting but only for the upstate casinos that are partnered with sportsbooks. That would continue to the case, except sportsbooks would have licenses to operate online within the state. New Jersey has approved mobile betting and continues to bring in many in New York who travel across state lines to participate. New York continues to miss out on a major piece of revenue that it so desperately needs.
What Needs To Happen
Despite an agreement on the state wanting mobile sports betting, there continue to be differences that hold it up. Much of it is related to who oversees it and the possibility of one market. The Senate and Assembly need to work out these issues before anything can really move on. That is what needs to be cleaned up at least by the April 1st deadline, otherwise, mobile sports betting is going to be nonexistent until next year rolls around where they still will need to have an agreement. However, if they can come to an agreement on some major issues, they will have until June to push forward some framework.
Senator Addabbo has been out in front of this one trying to push ahead this bill. Governor Cuomo has also endorsed his support for moving forward with this, but he has more pressing issues going on.
Neighboring States
Many states are moving ahead with mobile sports betting in 2021 due to the pandemic. There is an urge for tax revenue and licensing revenue, both of which are needed in New York. The market is large yet it is untapped due to most casinos being in upstate New York, where many are not likely to travel. New Jersey continues to benefit from New York as many will travel into the state to sign up and wager. New Jersey is one of the biggest sports betting states, holding higher revenue and handle than Nevada over the last few months.
Connecticut is also close to becoming the next state to approve legal sports betting and if New York pushes this back to 2022, they are going to battle it out with another state. Even some residents going to Pennsylvania. New York will continue to miss out on revenue that would go towards the state. This should be a more pressing issue this year especially.
