New York Sports Betting Optimism Declining Amid Political Concerns

Mark Lennihan-Pool/Getty Images. Pictured: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The clock is ticking on New York and mobile sports betting and it’s mighty close to striking midnight.

The New York State budget will be voted on starting Wednesday and there’s no sign of any back and forth between legislators and Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The Senate and Assembly both passed online sports betting bills, and although Cuomo has said he is interested in having online sports betting, there hasn’t been any talks. Cuomo last publicly supported a state lottery-run model, while the state politicians support a more open-ended hybrid model. 

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“The bottom line is we need to negotiate with the governor,” said Sen. Joseph Addabbo. “We need to see what would be in the budget and the hours are diminishing because in order to have something to see on Wednesday, they have to go print tomorrow. You can’t buy a new car without seeing the color or the make.”

Sports betting stocks plunged on a note from Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli, which reported pessimism surrounding sports betting progress in the upcoming budget. DraftKings stock finished down 8.5 percent, while Penn Gaming was down 7.8 percent. 

Addabbo expressed his frustration Monday, saying that his hopes of mobile sports betting in the budget had fallen from an 80/20 optimism to 50/50.

“New York should be perceived as a business-friendly state,” Addabbo said. “This is such a money generator. I’ve spoken to providers who want to do business in New York and all we are doing is giving them incentive to do business in New Jersey.”

Thanks in part to New York not allowing mobile betting, New Jersey has emerged as the new sports gambling capitol of the world, having taken in a record $6.3 billion in sports bets in 2020.

“If we get mobile sports betting in the budget, we are going to eclipse New Jersey in no time,” Addabbo said. 

If mobile sports betting isn’t in the budget, Addabbo said it’s likely 2021 will be written off.

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