Governor Cuomo Set to Embrace NY Mobile Sports Betting

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is preparing to embrace NY sports betting in the next week’s State of the State address, according to multiple reports.

This represents a u-turn from Cuomo, who had been refusing to legalize online sports betting in New York. However, huge financial impacts that the pandemic has yielded on businesses has pushed the Governor towards changing his mind. He intends to lay out plans to generate revenue, including the legalized online sports betting.

Shares of Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN) and DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) are up 3.1% and 4.6% in pre-open Wednesday, respectively.

“Are there other ways to get revenue? How about marijuana? How about sports betting?” the governor said in December.

It is likely that the booming online sports betting in neighboring New Jersey also pushed Cuomo towards this decision. New Jersey announced it recorded $931.6 million in sports betting in November to break a previous record.

“New York has the potential to be the largest sports wagering market in the United States, and by legalizing online sports betting we aim to keep millions of dollars in tax revenue here at home, which will only strengthen our ability to rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis,” Cuomo said in a statement.

“At a time when New York faces a historic budget deficit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the current online sports wagering structure incentivizes a large segment of New York residents to travel out of state to make online sports wagers or continue to patronize black markets.”

According to an Eilers & Krejcik Gaming report published in February 2020, it is estimated that New Yorkers wagered $837 million in New Jersey. This represents around 20% of the total New Jersey sports wagering.

As in other states, Cuomo’s proposal will require mobile sports betting operators to get a license from the state. In this context, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) will issue a request for proposals to offer mobile sports betting services in the state.

Last April, a group of 84 New York Assembly members said they are ready to support mobile sports wagering.

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