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New York Looking to Push Forward Online Betting

New York Looking to Push Forward with Online Sports Betting

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 21 September 2020

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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It has been reported that New York is looking to push forward with online sports betting, which could help to bring in more state revenue and give sports fans another betting option. At present, New York has a number of brick-and-mortar sportsbooks where people can place bets in person. However, there is currently no online sports betting available in the state.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, many people in states that offer online and mobile sports betting have been turning to digital technology rather than going to land-based casinos and sportsbooks. During the lockdown, this was the only option available, as brick-and-mortar facilities were closed for several months.

Missing Out on Much-Needed Revenue

As a result of having no mobile or online sports betting, New York has missed out on huge revenues that would have been welcomed given the financial losses from the global pandemic. While the world of live sports was shut down for some time during the peak of the pandemic, sportsbooks were offering other activities for gamblers to wager on.

In addition, many people took to online casinos during the lockdown, with revenue from online gaming rocketing while casinos were closed.

This would also have given the state a chance to claw back some of the lost revenue from casino and sportsbook closures during the pandemic. However, as there were no mobile or online facilities available, New York missed out on this opportunity.

It has been reported that Carl Heastie, the speaker of the New York State Assembly, may offer mobile and online betting as part of a revenue bill, but as yet no firm details or timescales have been given.

New York State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. is the chairman of a committee on racing, gaming, and wagering. He said:

When we return to session (via Zoom), the mobile sports betting part of the bill will be in some kind of a revenue package, but we have to wait to see when and if we will be getting any federal stimulus help from the federal government.

The Senate did pass a standalone bill in 2019 for mobile sports betting. However, it has not yet been passed by the state assembly. According to Addabbo, there should now be sufficient votes for the bill to be passed by the House.

Other States Have Enjoyed Great Success

Over recent days, many states across the country have been releasing their sports betting figures for August. In some states, records were set as live sports made a comeback and casinos reopened their doors. The figures showed that the majority of handle and revenue, however, stemmed from online and mobile sports betting.

The global pandemic has led to a sharp rise in the number of people preferring to use technology to place bets on their favorite teams and sports.

Some prefer not to go into a casino environment despite the stringent new measures that have been put into place. Others have become used to the convenience of going online to place bets and enjoy gambling activities.