Where NY Currently Stands
There are four commercial retail sportsbooks within the state of New York at the moment. They recorded record earnings in January, but the market remains untapped due to on-site sportsbooks being the only eligible way to take wagers. New Jersey is posting monster numbers and some New Yorkers are heading over the line to be able to access mobile gambling. New York has been looking for a way to get out of debt and taxing mobile sports betting is a helpful way to do just that. We have seen other states begin to move forward in this area as a key way to bring revenue into the state. Online betting is included within the budget for this term, but more details need to be cleaned up. Cuomo has talked about using a lottery run system, which would really limit the market when it comes to operators or even having just one. The optimism that there will be an open market is key, as multiple operators have begun to join already.
Partnerships Continue
The reason optimism remains for mobile betting in New York is that there have been some deals including Penn National joining the state as a partnership to get Barstool Sportsbook in and active. PointsBet has also voiced its opinion on the NY Market being at just the beginning for what it could become. This is certainly a positive for New York, but this is also predictable with or without mobile sports betting. The market is massive and companies will be willing to get in early and wait for approved sports betting. The optimism for mobile sports betting should be there regardless of its current legal state, but the optimism that it will happen in 2021 should be dwindling.
Gov Cuomo’s Legal Issues
At the beginning of the year, Gov Cuomo was ready to get mobile sports betting going in the Empire State. He said, “New York has the potential to be the largest sports wagering market in the United States, and by legalizing online sports betting we aim to keep millions of dollars in revenue here at home, which will only strengthen our ability to rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis.” Now things are looking a bit different for his priorities, as he continues to battle legal troubles from sexual misconduct to also covering up nursing home death coverups. While he anticipates remaining in office, the current investigations and calls for him to resign continue.
