New York’s slow road to legal sports betting
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Patrons visit the sports betting area of Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. the only state in the region that has launched sports betting so far.AP
New York is taking the slow road on sports betting.
The state Gaming Commission took one small step last week, releasing draft regulations for two months of public comment before they’re finalized. But the rules only cover sports betting at the casinos authorized in the 2012 constitutional amendment that opened the doors to (non-Lottery, non-Indian-reservation) legal gambling in New York.
Online and mobile betting is still somewhere over the horizon. Assemblyman Gary Pretlow and state Sen. Joe Addabbo, who chair the legislative committees on racing and wagering, want the Gaming Commission to include mobile sports wagering in its final rules.
But the commissioners are more likely to heed Gov. Cuomo — who’s suggesting a whole new constitutional amendment is needed to allow non-casino betting.
Not everyone agrees: Legislation to allow for full-scale sports betting in New York died in the final days of session last June, and the courts haven’t ruled on the issue.
So it looks like, even after the four casinos get licensed for sports betting, downstaters are more likely to head to New Jersey, which went whole-hog for legal sports betting as soon as the US Supreme Court opened the door.
Pennsylvania is rushing to catch up.
Maybe seeing good results there will bring Albany on board — or maybe it’ll just wait until the next recession, when lawmakers turn desperate for something new to tax.
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