Growing Number of Sportsbook Apps in New York Doesn’t Fall Under Cuts
NY State Senator Joe Addabbo Jr. said Wednesday that expanding mobile betting on sports is unlikely to be features in the new budget proposition.
Over the weekend, while state legislators debated the budget, the senator said that the state’s projected growth of a new sports betting industry would be premature at this time.
Since the Empire State’s online sports betting market debuted on January 8, 2022, the New York State Gaming Commission has licensed a total of nine businesses.
On the other hand, some politicians and gambling businesses that did not qualify complain that the current nine-operator model lacks diversity and variation for gamblers.
Looking for Something Less Likely to Happen
State lawmakers are now trying to reach agreement on a new budget, but Mr. Addabbo thinks increased betting on mobile sports could be left out.
The senator said that he and other legislators have properly studied the situation and that they are not seeking to fix what is not broken because they believe the growth of online sports betting is premature.
He went on to say that the legislature might revisit the issue in six or seven months and then consider it again.
As a result, the number of mobile sports betting companies in New York will remain at nine for now.
One of the main concerns about the growing industry is how it will affect tax revenues, since the operators paid $105 million in taxes in January and February and $50 million in March.
Earlier, Mr. Addabbo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow recommended a 51 percent tax rate reduction for mobile sports betting.
Under their proposal, the tax rate would have decreased as the number of operators increased, and when the state reached 16 licenses, the rate would have dropped to 25 percent.
However, the commission decided not to grant bet365 a 10th license and instead lowered the rate to 50%.
It’s also worth noting that neither the Senate nor the Assembly budgets, as drafted by one house, contain a fee reduction for mobile sports betting.
By contrast, the Senator is delighted with the results of the past fiscal year.
He added that he and Mr. Pretlow are constantly looking for ways to improve the gambling sector so that it can provide a better product to New Yorkers.
Concerns About Licenses in Downstate
New York may include in its new budget an acceleration of three downstate casino licenses.
Empire City Casino in Yonkers is expected to be the recipient of one of the licenses, which could be worth as much as $1 billion.
Some gambling experts, on the other hand, are concerned about the expansion of gambling opportunities and the impact they could have on state residents.
That’s why Leilani Yizar-Reid, a public advocate, is working with the New York State Gaming Commission and Yonkers casinos to ensure that at-risk players get the help they need.
She thinks it’s important to bring people together who care about the problem, whether they’re struggling with problem gambling or have been touched by the problem.
