Is Sports Betting Legal in New York?

Even though New York was at the forefront of the daily fantasy sports debate with DraftKings, Fanduel, and Eric Schneiderman, legalized betting is going to happen. There is far too much money at stake for the state with the fourth-highest population. New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania are already moving. Massachusetts is on its way, and so are Connecticut and Rhode Island. Ontario, with easy access for Buffalonians, offers parlay wagering through the provincial lottery.

New York has moved forward as well. The brick-and-mortar commercial casinos (Del Lago, Resorts World Catskills, Rivers Casino, and Tioga Downs) already have the go-ahead to operate legally once the Gaming Commission gives its blessing and some Native American casinos are ready to launch as well. The hold-up now in the state legislature is about allowing online sports betting. The “online” portion also includes the race tracks.

The timelines have taken a rather dramatic turn, as you will read about under the Recent News Stories header. What’s interesting about New York is that several of the casinos fall on tribal lands or under tribal control, like Seneca Allegany, Seneca Niagara, and Turning Stone. But, New York also has its race tracks, including Belmont Park, and also the Resorts World Casino New York City. Table games are permitted at several casinos, while others are simply racinos.

The debate rages on in the state assembly whether or not betting should be online, how it will be run, and where it will be run. There are also a lot of different population factors in play. Representatives and officials from New York City are also listening to reps from the capital in Albany, smaller areas along the Pennsylvania and Vermont borders, and the Buffalo area. That is a lot of opinions and a lot of differing motivations and interest levels.

Coming to an agreement on how to run legalized sports betting will be the hardest part, but New York’s elected officials will eventually come together and agree. Far too much money is at stake given neighboring states and the population. How and when that happens, well, that’s what we’ll have to wait and see.

 

Recent News Stories About Betting

New York’s Resorts World Catskills Casino Joins Forces with Bet 365 on Sports GamblingBet365, a United Kingdom based online gambling entity and the world’s largest online sports gambling company, has reached an agreement to act as the sports book gaming provider for New York based Resorts World Catskills casino.

The New York Daily News published an update on June 14 that quotes the spokesman of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie noting that there is an impasse for right now regarding online betting. The 2018 legislative session ends June 20.

Tom Precious of The Buffalo News added some additional context to the recent reports that the Assembly has hit a wall.

From the Washington Post, New York is up against some deadlines with the football season coming up and the status of sports betting in neighboring states.

Interestingly, as Legal Sports Report pointed out, New York passed legislation in 2013 to allow sports betting at commercial casinos if PASPA was struck down.

The sportsbook at Del Lago Casino in the Finger Lakes region of New York is going to be operated by DraftKings.

 

Forecast

The situation in New York is basically a mess. There are casinos of all shapes and sizes and many have different operators, ranging from the commercial properties to the race tracks to the Indian casinos. All of them seem to be operating under different guidelines and timelines. On the whole, New York is ready to open for betting business, but not really for the online portion. It certainly feels like the operators are just left to their own devices while the state tries to figure out the online portion via apps and computers. There are too many hands in this cookie jar and too many self interests for it all to come together smoothly, but New Yorkers will be betting sooner rather than later.

 

Neighboring States

Connecticut

Massachusetts

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Vermont