New York State’s mobile sports betting has been more or less confirmed over the last weeks but now has been officially signed and approved. After months of heated discussions about the introduction of online sports wagering to the state, Governor Andrew Cuomo has finally signed the budget plan for the 2022 fiscal year, thus formally passing the proposed gambling change.
It has years since the state’s legislature and gambling operators have started rooting for the introduction of mobile sports gambling. But now the local government has resorted to the gambling change as a way to provide additional revenue for the heavily struck by the unprecedented situation budget for the upcoming 2022 fiscal year.
Budget Signed
Governor Cuomo has officially given the legal stamp of approval for the gambling change as he has officially signed the budget plan which included mobile sports betting for the state. However, the change has been sanctioned to follow Gov. Cuomo’s limited operator model, ergo the neighboring New Jersey will still offer a greater variety of sports betting opportunities.
Senator Joe Addabbo Jr. the creator of the opposing proposal with an open market for casino regulators has also commented on the topic. According to him, the Super Bowl will be the ultimate benchmark to measure the effect of officially regulated mobile sports wagering in the state. However, tribal nations could still come up with challenges to the bill.
Gov. Cuomo’s model of operations requires a request for proposals, the process of which is expected to start by July 1 and take over 30 days. Then there are 150 days to assess all candidates and make a final decision, however, the verdict might be provided earlier than the 150 days period. But for the time being, there are no official criteria of how the candidates will be reviewed.
Mr. Addabbo has presented a couple of exemplary conditions for the perfect bidder. In his words, a series of aspects must be considered starting from the speed of the market, expertise, previous experience with other states that the operator has concluded, and ability to handle volume. There are only two provider slots with a minimum of four skins each, both providers must pay US$25 million each for a 10 year-license and share 50% of the revenue.
Possible Tribal Exclusion
As already mentioned, the NYS could face tribal difficulties with the introduction of mobile sports gambling to the state. There is a possibility that Oneida Indian Nation being left out of the gambling change, which has severely upset the tribe. If that happens the nation could consider it as a violation of its 2013 exclusivity arrangement with the state, and suspend its payments to the state.
Support for Youth Programs
However, it must be mentioned that the adoption of mobile sports betting will have plenty of positive effects on the state’s well-being. Assemblywoman Monica Wallace has voiced her support for the change and has suggested using a small portion of the generated revenue to fund local youth sporting organizations and programs. She believes that 5% of the revenue can be used to support less fortunate families in the state.
