Since the death of PASPA in 2018, more than 20 states have advanced legislation to introduce sports gambling. New York had all of the pieces in place even before then, having approved legislation in 2013. The framework was added in 2019 to allow land-based sportsbooks, but online alternatives were put on hold. It wasn’t until after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the state’s wallet that Governor Andrew Cuomo backed off his anti-online gambling position, but things aren’t moving quickly. Despite some states being able to create legislative frameworks for sports gambling in a few short months, New York is still behind. A discussion on the topic yesterday shows how the increasing frustration in the state with its inability to make real progress with online sports gambling.
The Government Law Center at Albany Law School presented a podcast yesterday, The Future of Sports Wagering in New York, to address what is occurring with New York’s sports gambling efforts. Former Deputy Secretary for Gaming and Racing Bennett Liebman was present, discussing the history of how gaming has developed in the state and where the topic stands ahead of the March 30 budget deadline. Standing out in the discussion was the continued debate on how the sports gambling market should be managed and how this is preventing forward movement.
Cuomo had repeatedly asserted that online sports wagers weren’t possible since only a constitutional amendment could allow the activity. Looking at a budget deficit that reaches into the billions of dollars, he suddenly changed his mind. However, he is still adamant that his way, allowing only the state to run sportsbooks, is the right way. This would keep casinos out of the picture and is causing friction among lawmakers, many of whom want to get sports gambling settled before March 30.
The governor hasn’t been able to show lawmakers that his version is the better option and has been elusive on many aspects of how the market would be managed. According to Shanna Cassidy, Committee Director of the Racing, Gaming & Wagering Committee of the New York Senate, “In our bill, we have about a 20-month span where all entities can come in whether it be racetracks, arenas, stadiums. There is a lot of the unknown in the details in [Governor] Cuomo’s proposal.“
Cassidy was referring to S 1183, a bill drafted by Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. It has received substantial support from sports gambling operators and some of the state’s tribal nations, but stalls because of the governor refuses to budge. Just as Cuomo kept online sportsbooks away for years, he is now making it difficult for New York to settle on a mutually acceptable alternative.
With some analysts predicting a market that could be worth as much as $1.14 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR), introducing sports gambling would provide New York with a much-needed windfall. However, for some reason, Cuomo insists on using a failed system. States that have introduced a state-led sports gambling market have not produced the results expected, while others that have competitive markets, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, have been setting records with their revenue. The GGR forecast to come from an expanded sports gambling market in New York won’t be able to cover the entire $9 billion the state needs to break even, but it would certainly make a post-COVID-19 recovery easier. With less than three weeks to go before the budget deadline, New York needs to make sports gambling legislation a priority, or the state is going to fall further behind economically.
