New York One Step Closer to Passing Online Betting Legislation

Everything that New York does echoes throughout the US, and this could also be the case for sports betting – online sports betting, to be precise. Namely, the eastern American state could become the biggest online betting market if its lawmakers pass the legislation legalizing this activity.

Legislators reportedly want to approve one such measure, meaning New York could become the next online sports wagering hub starting September this year.

The Action Network released a report last Tuesday claiming that Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor, proposed the popular limited-operator model. This model was actually included in the 2022 budget for the city. According to the model, the New York Lottery will select a pair of online sports betting firms and award them operating licenses. These firms will then have a chance to subcontract up to four skins that will be mobile-first oriented.

Licenses Open New Possibilities

The state of New York officially legalized sports betting in June 2019. Since then, this activity has been legal only in the retail format, meaning bettors actually have to visit land-based sportsbooks if they want to place wagers on sports games. However, the aggregated handle wasn’t big enough — approximately a few million dollars, which is a very small amount for such a big market. Therefore, many proponents of legalizing online sports wagering operations believe that 90% of the people will enjoy this activity remotely, meaning there’s an opportunity to earn billions of dollars on a monthly basis.

Still, there are lawmakers who don’t agree with everything that the new legislative piece suggests, believing that it would favor firms that already run land-based sportsbooks in upstate casinos in New York. These firms are FanDuel Group, Bet365, BetRivers, and DraftKings Incorporated. This will be at the possible expense of some operators that are labeled as “second skin,” including Barstool from Penn National Gaming Incorporated and PointsBet USA, PointsBet Holdings Proprietary Limited’s subsidiary.

The new proposal from Andrew Cuomo also aims to prohibit MGM Resorts International from obtaining licenses via their two properties in the state – Empire City Casino or Aqueduct Racetrack. Moreover, in-stadium kiosks will also not be available in major venues, such as Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium. According to Cuomo, the three federally recognized tribes that have gambling-related businesses in the state, the Mohawk Community of Akwesasne, the Seneca Nation of Indians, and the Oneida Indian Nation, will all be able to enter the online sports betting race. This could happen, even though there are pre-emptive operator deals.

Online sports betting could become fully legal before September 9, which is a date scheduled for the National Football League to start. It means that, if all goes well, the residents of New York will have an opportunity to place wagers on the most popular sport in America from the comfort of their homes. The New York Gaming Commission will probably have to come up with new measures and regulations, which is not going to be an easy task, providing that they’ll have to deal with the largest legal online sports betting market in the US.

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