Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images. Pictured: Andrew Cuomo
On the heels of an investigation that found he sexually harassed 11 women, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation on Tuesday, only a day after the bids for the state’s mobile sports gambling licenses went public.
That timing has left some in the sports betting space to wonder whether the pace to introduce mobile sports betting within the Big Apple would slow was a result of Cuomo’s resignation. Cuomo’s resignation will go into effect in two weeks, he said. He’ll be replaced by Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become the state’s first woman governor.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo, who has been the fiercest proponent of mobile sports betting, told The Action Network that he’s optimistic that the transition won’t affect the timeline, which was on pace to be introduced sometime in February after the Super Bowl.
“In a way, it’s helpful in that there was a quick resolution here,” Addabbo said. “There’s something that will change in days, not months, which would have been the case had there been impeachment proceedings.”
Addabbo said that, besides Cuomo, he doesn’t expect personnel to change, so the executives who were charged with moving things forward, primarily deputy secretary Rob Williams and budget director Rob Mujica, will be doing exactly what they had been doing prior to the resignation.
“From the outside looking in, all the internal players are the same,” Addabbo said.
As New Jersey has turned into the No. 1 state for sports betting, trumping Nevada every month for what has been nearly two years, New York has fallen way behind with only brick-and-mortar sportsbooks upstate. Making matters worse, New York residents have flocked to New Jersey to make their bets.
Addabbo says he has no public rooting interest among the six bids submitted, other than to say he needs the most competent, best in brand to be available Day 1 so that his “switch and stay” campaign can be effective.
“I need the online sports gambling product in New York to be top shelf from Day 1,” Addabbo said.
The two most boffo bids are from a combined bid from FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Bally Bet and from a combined bid made by Caesars, Resorts World, PointsBet, BetRivers and WynnBet.