Sports gambling chances improve
Decision could break down New York limits, but timeline for legal changes unclear
Legalized sports gambling may be coming to New York.
Gambling operators and state legislators in New York are scrambling to craft a new regulatory framework after a federal cap on the states allowed to offer sports wagering was struck down Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A recent New York law outlines a general process for offering sports gambling at the state’s new upstate casinos, but a comprehensive overhaul would need to be adopted before the end of the legislative session in six weeks to move it forward this year.
The state Gaming Commission must also adopt regulations and issue a sports gambling license before the casinos could offer sports wagering. That process will likely be preempted by the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, according to Michael Kane, president and executive director of the New York Gaming Association, whose members include the Saratoga Casino Hotel and Rivers Casino.
“I don’t think that’s going to stand,” Kane said of the sports gambling language tucked into the 2013 law that authorized the creation of full-scale casinos outside of Native American reservations.
The law allows casinos to offer sports gambling on-site only and didn’t authorize the use of online platforms. It also restricted wagering on college sporting events.
Even with Monday’s Supreme Court ruling, the implementation may take time and the governor is pessimistic it will happen in 2018.
Cuomo, speaking to reporters in Manhattan on Monday, rejected the idea that sports gambling in New York could be rolled out using the broad framework
crafted in 2013. He said a new law was needed if the state wanted to proceed with sports gambling.
“We’ll do an economic analysis and a legal analysis, but nothing’s going to happen this year because there’s literally just a number of days left in the legislative session and this would be a very, very big issue to tackle,” Cuomo said.
The court’s ruling is expected to intensify efforts by Capital Region gambling operators, such as the Saratoga Casino Hotel, the New York Racing Association and Capital OTB, to get in on the action, as they’re precluded from offering sports gambling under existing state law. Legislation allowing these operators to offer sports
We’ll do an economic analysis and a legal analysis, but nothing’s going to happen this year because there’s literally just a number of days left in the legislative session and this would be a very, very big issue to tackle.” — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo
gambling in conjunction with the full-scale casinos was introduced this spring in the state Senate and is expected to be updated before the end of the week.
The only local player with the potential to offer sports gambling under current law is the Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, which has been eagerly preparing for the Supreme Court decision, according to its parent company, Rush Street Gaming.
“We look forward to adding sports betting across all our gaming platforms as soon as possible,” Rush Street Gaming CEO Greg Carlin said in a statement.
State Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee Chair John Bonacic backs legislation that would allow for sports gambling on online platforms, impose a state tax of 8.5 percent on sports wagering gross revenue, collect fees for the operators of sports leagues and authorize gambling on college sports.
The Senate bill would also authorize full-scale casinos to contract out to other operators like NYRA or Capital OTB.
Kane said the casinos will be interested in partnerships so they can access the clientele served by other gambling providers. “You’re going to want to bring as many potential customers into the loop as you can,” he said.
The state’s off-track betting corporations previously expressed a willingness to partner with casinos on sports gambling. Capital OTB recently partnered with Rivers Casino to offer on-site horse betting for casino patrons.
Speaking at a Senate hearing in January on sports gambling, NYRA President and CEO Chris Kay argued that sports gambling shouldn’t be limited to casinos and touted NYRA’S capacity to handle online wagering.
“For us not to be included, we believe, would hurt us,” Kay said. “But the amount of that pain, I don’t know.”
James Featherstonaugh, a part-owner of the Saratoga Casino Hotel, described sports gambling as a “nice enhancement” to their offerings but said it wasn’t critical to their success.
One reason why legalized sports gambling might not radically upset the gambling landscape is the abundance of illegal alternatives, with experts estimating that Americans already bet in excess of $100 billion annually on sports. Kane said it could be a challenge to attract gamblers who place wagers with offshore gambling services or illegal bookmakers and questioned the level of interest in sports gambling among people who don’t already
take part.
“Sports betting is not going to create hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for New York directly,” he said. “The numbers don’t play out that way.”
The decision by the Supreme Court leaves the door open to regulation by the federal government, which could supersede state oversight. In the court’s majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote, “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each state is free to act on its own.”
A spokesman for the Gaming Commission said they were reviewing the court’s decision and its potential implications for New York.