New York to move forward with legalised online sports betting

Published on 8th April 2021 by Adam

Despite increased interest in the socially distanced genre, online gambling has not yet made its way to the whole of the United States. While several states have adopted mobile sports betting, online casino gaming is a separate entity that has not followed suit. Only players in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Delaware are legally permitted to join online casinos. Luckily, a big announcement that would expand online access seems to be on the horizon.

New York poised to join neighbour New Jersey in legalising online sports wagering

New Jersey officially legalised online casino gambling in 2013. Its neighbour has taken a bit more convincing, with New York stubbornly refusing to allow players access to the vast majority of online gambling forums. According to Governor Cuomo, that is set to change. In an announcement shared on the 6th of April 2021, the state approved the FY 2022 New York State Budget. This is an exciting development for online sports betting enthusiasts as the budget contained a proposition to legalise online sports wagering in the state.

According to Governor Cuomo, the legalisation will provide the state with more than $420.8m in revenue, making it potentially the biggest online sports wagering market in the United States. This high figure indicates that the state-run betting platform will likely receive at least 50% of mobile sports betting revenue. That might seem like a rather steep cut, but the money will provide much-needed funding to youth sports and other education initiatives. A portion of the revenue will also be dedicated to combating gambling addiction and promoting healthy, responsible betting.

Governor Cuomo described the new legalisation as a response to the financial devastation COVID-19 has caused the state. He described the budget approval as a monumental achievement to help New York stabilise its economy: “We are also making historic investments to reimagine, rebuild and renew New York in the aftermath of the worst health and economic crisis in a century.”

It should be noted that New York has not legalised online sports betting carte blanche but will instead promote a state-run platform. That will allow players to wager online and greatly benefit the state at the same time:

“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. I’m not here to make casinos a lot of money, I’m here to raise funds for the state.”

While New York has not yet legalised online casino wagering, the recent advancement of sports betting is a significant step towards that market.