A bill that will enable online and mobile sports betting to operate in New York has passed the first committee stage in the State Senate by an unopposed vote.
The bill, S17, that passed a vote in the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee by a 7-0 margin, will now move on to the Senate Committee on Finance.
S17 would also enable holders of sports betting licenses in New York to conduct a mobile sports betting operation and would also permit sports betting in stadia. The bill initially passed a vote in the Senate in June of last year but after it failed to see a vote in the state assembly, it was restored for the 2020 legislative session. Its motion through the Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee last year was also unanimous.
Its sponsor, Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee chair Joseph Addabbo, has not been dissuaded to continue pressing for legal mobile betting in the Empire State by the failure of the bill to pass in the previous legislative session.
Addabbo pointed out that in November 2019, New Jersey casinos took in $31.9 m on a $562.7m handle while in the same month, New York sportsbooks took in $1.3m with this figure declining further to $780,418 in December.
Last week Addabbo claimed that the extra funds would help deal with New York’s growing budget deficit.
Addabbo also pushed for the state to take advantage of three currently unused casino licenses that was available for facilities in the southern region of the state, near New York City.