New York still hung up on whether to OK mobile sport bets

NEW YORK (AP) >> New York is unlikely to approve statewide mobile sports betting anytime soon.

Despite a push from lawmakers who favor letting people bet on their phones or laptops, sports betting remains restricted to inperson wagers at upstate casinos.

At the Sports Betting USA conference Tuesday in New York, two Democratic lawmakers who have been pushing for legal sports betting said they’ll try to put a provision in the state budget allowing mobile sports betting when the Legislature convenes in January.

But Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo continues to question whether such betting is constitutional.

“It’s not a question of if; it’s when,” said state Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. “It’s going to happen. People want to bet in New York. They don’t want to get in the car and drive two hours upstate, and they’d rather not get in the

car and go over the bridge to New Jersey, but they’re doing that now.”

When New York might offer statewide mobile betting remains anyone’s bet. It is quickly becoming the industry standard in the U.S., with 80% of New Jersey

sports betting revenue coming via smartphones or laptops.

Addabbo and Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow said a report on the pros and cons of mobile sports betting was supposed to have been released within the next few weeks but has been delayed until April.

“I know what the report’s going to say: It’s going to say, ‘Do it,’” Pretlow said.

New York would be the largest state to have fullblown sports betting. It and California represent the holy grail for the nascent sports betting industry, which is currently led by Nevada, with New Jersey nipping at its heels.

California could hold a legislative hearing on sports betting by the end of November. But in addition to lining up political support, lawmakers in the Golden State must also reconcile their desire to offer sports betting with a fear from tribal casinos that poorly crafted legislation could hurt their business.

A bill for mobile sports betting in New York passed the Senate but was not approved in the Assembly, due in part to worries that Cuomo would veto it.