New York has been missing out on massive mobile betting revenues since the sports market opened up in 2018, but maybe not for much longer.
While sports betting in NY is legal now, it is limited to a handful of upstate retail locations. There is no facility to bet online or mobile in-state.
With nearby New Jersey and Pennsylvania now making fortunes from going all in on mobile, lawmakers in NY are pushing for change locally.
Add in the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s easy to see why this crazy situation probably won’t last much longer.
NY handle just pitiful
February 2021 state sports betting handles summed up the situation perfectly – NY just not even at the races when it comes to the dollars involved:
- New Jersey drove a handle of more than $742million (with almost 93% from mobile betting)
- Pennsylvania drive a handle of more than $509million
- New York meanwhile produced a handle of just $1.15million, down from $3.57million in January
If that seems like a quite frankly laughable state of affairs, well the powers that be in NY appear to agree.
Cuomo backing mobile betting in New York
Lawmakers have included provision for mobile sports betting in its state budget, and Governor Andrew Cuomo is backing the push.
The only real doubt here – if you can call it that – is how mobile sports betting would be rolled out in NY. Cuomo – currently fighting other battles as he fends off sexual harrassment claims – would like it to be run by the state.
Either way we should find out pretty soon. Negotiations are ongoing and the deadline for the state budget is only 2 weeks away on March 31.
So now we must sit and wait for a decision that could (again) change the face of sports betting in the U.S. – bringing another big dog to the table. The pie is enormous, maybe it’s time for NY to eat.