The proposal was released over the weekend and lawmakers in both legislative chambers have reached an agreement on mobile betting in New York.
The Senate and The Assembly have ruled that New York’s four commercial casinos, and three tribal operators, will be granted two mobile platforms.
Each operator will owe $12m in licensing fees and the sports betting revenue tax rates for mobile will be 12% as opposed to 8.5% for retail.
The inclusion of mobile sports betting in an assembly budget could see it gain legal approval. This is the first time both chambers have included legalized sports betting in their budget proposals. Two years ago, the Senate included it in its proposal but not the Assembly.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is negotiating with New York state legislature, has stated he prefers a state-run monopoly. He believes a monopoly will maximize state revenue, though others disagree.
Cuomo said: “Many states have done sports betting, but they basically allow casinos to run their own gambling operations. That makes a lot of money for casinos, but it makes minimal money for the state.
“And I’m not here to make casinos a lot of money. I’m here to raise funds for the state. So, we have a different model for sports betting.”
Nothing is yet set in stone, however, as the budget will continue being negotiated and analysed. In the next two weeks, lawmakers will discuss what should be New York’s take on mobile sports betting.
