Pol: Bet up, or we get sacked

ALBANY — Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan said Friday it’s “critically important” for the Legislature to take action that enables sports betting in New York.

“It is going to happen all around us, and I don’t want to have other states eating our lunch,” Flanagan (R-Suffolk County) said during a radio interview on AM 970’s “The Answer.”

Flanagan’s comments come in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last month that struck down a federal ban that prevented New York and other states beyond Nevada from offering sports gambling.

Under existing state law, New York’s four commercial casinos can begin offering on-site sports gambling as soon as the Gaming Commission gives the OK, but lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow them to offer online platforms and betting kiosks at racetracks and other venues.

Flanagan did not go into specifics on what he would like to see in the legislation, beyond saying that it should have “protections and safeguards” for both bettors and the sports leagues.