New York Governor Cuomo Wants Sports Wagering Legalized in the State

In his State of the Nation address that took place recently, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reportedly announced that he wants the authorization of sports betting in four upstate casinos. The governor is reported to have said that the activity should be authorized since “it’s here, it’s a reality, and it will help generate activity in those casinos.”

The New York governor also submitted a $170 billion budget that includes a plan to plug a hole in the $3.1 billion fiscal gap through sports betting revenues.

Implementation of this, however, will require more than just an announcement; it would require changes in the state’s constitution.

Sports betting in New York

The suggestion of Governor Cuomo is not new. In 2013, a law was passed that authorized casinos in upstate New York to offer sports betting to their patrons. However, the New York Gaming Commission has yet to make known the required rules directed by the law. This has remained the case even as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 to strike down a federal ban on sports betting.

It is believed that much more is needed in order to get the regulation process going. The wheels might get turning this year now that the governor has included the authorization of sports betting into the state budget.

Given the years-long gap between the 2013 law and the 2018 Supreme Court decision, it is easy to assume that lawmakers stopped trying. That, however, isn’t the case as a couple of bills were passed in 2018. This year, Senator Joseph Addabbo filed a sports betting bill, which is similar to the failed bill submitted by his predecessor, Senator John Bonacic.

There is high hope for a bill to be successfully passed now that the governor has included sports betting authorization in the state budget. However, Cuomo’s budget director Jon Campbell took to Twitter to announce that constitutional changes need to be made before sports betting can be allowed anywhere in the state of New York.

Sports betting in the U.S.

Although New York doesn’t have a clear law regarding sports betting, other parts of the U.S. have declared the activity legal. Those who want to place bets and gable without fear of breaking the law can head to any of these seven states: Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Sports betting was originally illegal under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992. That act was repealed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018. However, the decision didn’t automatically make sports gambling legal; that decision was left up to the individual states.

The states of Delaware, Oregon, Montana, and Nevada already have pre-existing laws concerning sports betting. New York’s neighbor, New Jersey, was one of the states that took advantage of the 2018 Supreme Court ruling, allowing gambling in the state in June 2018.

What about online gambling?

Governor Cuomo is considering physical casinos, but a large portion of the population can also be found gambling online. Are their activities legal? Under the United Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, domestic or offshore sports betting aren’t prohibited. So anyone who wants to play casino games online can point their browsers at any gambling site without fear of failing on the wrong side of the law. Since there are far too many of said sites available online, it might be best to check site reviews, like this one on the Ignition casino review, to decide whether or not it is worth visiting. Gambling means taking a risk with your money and it follows that you would want to spend your money in a place that offers great features.

What happens to sports betting in New York now?

Governor Cuomo has voiced support for the sports betting in the past, but it was cemented with its inclusion in the state budget. Now that his message is out, what happens next?

The Supreme Court ruling in 2018 left the decision to legalize sports gambling to each of the states. Some states already had laws in place before the ruling was issued. New York, however, started introducing bills to legalize sports betting in the state but no concrete results have been seen so far.

Sports gambling legalization might actually progress now that the governor requests it. However, there is the issue of constitutional change that needs to be looked into. Many are hoping that an amendment to the constitution would not be needed since needing one means that the legalization of sports betting will take even longer.