Cuomo Shifts Gears on Mobile Sports Betting in New York

After several years of blocking efforts to legalize mobile sports betting, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he now supports such a means of wagering as a way to bring in state tax revenues that have been hammered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a briefing with reporters Jan. 6, the Democratic governor said he will propose in his upcoming state budget a mobile sports betting program that will be run by the state Lottery Division. But Cuomo, along with his state budget director, said the plan will avoid routes taken by other states, including New Jersey, that have driven more money to the gambling industry than the state.

"I'm here to make money for the state,'' said Cuomo, who presides over a state government with a current fiscal year budget deficit of about $8 billion. Robert Mujica, Cuomo's budget director, estimated New York could bring in $500 million in tax revenues under the governor's sports betting plan.

Specific details were not yet released. Cuomo in recent years has blocked mobile sports betting, saying such a form of gambling—in order to be legal in New York—had to go through a multi-year constitutional amendment process approved by both state lawmakers and voters statewide.

A leading legislative proponent of mobile sports betting praised Cuomo for embracing the idea.

"I appreciate his efforts. I think it's long overdue,'' said Sen. Joseph Addabbo, a Queens Democrat who chairs the Senate racing, gaming, and wagering committee. Addabbo has been the Senate sponsor of legislation to legalize mobile sports betting.

But Addabbo expressed concerns about the Lottery Division approach Cuomo is considering, saying it would sharply limit competition and, thereby, tax revenues and jobs. To try to address legal concerns, Addabbo and lawmakers have backed legislation the past couple years that would require mobile wagers be driven through computer servers placed at licensed casinos in the state. They proposed one "skin,'' or one online sports book per casino.

But Addabbo said he has been considering amendments to his bill allowing more skins per casino. Under the Cuomo plan, he believes, it could end up permitting just one skin statewide.

"We should have a short-term and a long-term (economic) plan for our state. The benefits that we would recognize long-term depends on what we do in the short term. We have to get it right in the short-term. I just don't want to miss out on an opportunity,'' Addabbo said.

What role Thoroughbred horse racing would play in a mobile sports betting environment is uncertain. Past bills have restricted involvement by horse racing entities to mobile sports betting; wagers on horse races, for instance, were not permitted under previous legislative versions. Addabbo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, chairman of the Assembly racing and wagering committee, in 2019 amended their legislation to permit New York Racing Association and off-track betting facilities to offer sports betting via on-site kiosks, with other facilities, such as track-based video lottery terminal casinos, to be phased in later.

But Addabbo said lawmakers and the public are still waiting on a comprehensive gambling study commissioned by the state Gaming Commission, due more than seven months ago, that was to look at the whole range of betting issues in the state, including what critics say are antiquated models in the on-track and off-track betting sectors.

Addabbo said the racing industry has to be included in some way into whatever mobile sports betting measure that may come during budget talks this spring.

"Horse racing is an iconic industry. It's part of our tradition and heritage in this state. It needs to be incorporated for the backstretch workers, breeders, trainers, owners, and the industry itself,'' Addabbo said.

Sports betting has been permitted in New York a couple of years, but only in-person at four commercial casinos and Native American-owned casinos.