New York Gov. Cuomo pushes for mobile sports betting

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will ask the legislature to legalize mobile sports betting as part of his State of the State address scheduled for next week, his office said in a release.

The proposal would expand sports wagering statewide, beyond the limited bricks-and-mortar locations where it is currently available upstate. The proposal also makes no mention of allowing state racing interests to capitalize on the expansion.

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According to the release from Cuomo’s office, the proposal will allow the state gambling commission to issue a request for proposals to a mobile sports operator, which will then be required to reach a “partnership” with one of the state’s existing casinos in order to operate. Cuomo’s announcement said that the proposal will be pushed to counter the emerging strength of the sports-betting market in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, two neighbors where sports betting has been legal for several years.

“The current online sports wagering structure incentivizes a large segment of New York residents to travel out of state to make online sports wagers or continue to patronize black markets,” the statement read. “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.”

Sports gambling is currently being offered at four upstate casinos under an unusual law that was passed in 2013 that allowed for the practice at the sites if federal law banning states from offering sports betting was voided. That happened with a Supreme Court ruling in 2018.

Since then, legislators have introduced bills that would amend the state’s constitution to expand the practice to other casinos and to racetracks, but those bills have not been passed. The New York Racing Association, which operates Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga, under a lease with the state, has pushed to be included in any sports betting proposals.