The day before Delaware became the first state to offer legal sports betting in the post-PASPA era, the state of New York took a big step toward making sports betting legal in the Empire State. Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-District 89) on Monday drafted a bill that gives the pro sports leagues a royalty – rather than the so-called integrity fee – of .25 percent of all sports wagers.
Sports wagering would be legal at casinos and off-track betting locations throughout New York.
Like many other states, New York is racing to make sports betting legal in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act on May 14. Delaware on Tuesday became the first state to roll out legal sports betting since the decision. New Jersey is expected to vote on sports betting legislation later this week and potentially accept sports bets at Monmouth Park as early as Friday.
Latest New York Sports Betting Draft Bill Allows for Mobile NY Sports Betting and Calls for an 8.5 Percent Tax on Sportsbooks.
The New York draft bill, obtained by PlayUSA.com, includes the three-tiered system of wagers present in previous New York bills. It also allows for mobile sports betting, calls for an 8.5 percent tax rate on sportsbooks’ gross revenues and outlines a regulatory framework.
With regard to the tier system, the draft bill allows for sportsbooks to use any data they deem appropriate for Tier 1 wagers, but calls for the use of data provided by the professional leagues or NCAA for Tier 2 wagers. A pro sports league or NCAA (referred to as a “sports governing body”) may “notify the commission that it desires to require casinos to use official league data” for Tier 3 sports wagers.
According to the text of the draft, sports bets may be placed in person or through mobile devices, and bettors would be limited to one account per sports betting operator.
But the key difference in this draft versus previous legislation introduced by Senator John Bonacic (R-District 42) is that Bonacic’s bill grants the professional leagues a payout with no strings attached. The Pretlow draft bill refers to the payout as a “royalty” and is only available to the pro leagues via reimbursement. The leagues would be required to submit a claim, meet with the regulatory commission and provide proof of what was spent on training programs, integrity monitoring and any other related costs.
The draft also caps the royalty fee at 2 percent of a casino’s gross sports wagering revenue.
New York General Assembly Adjourns on June 20, Leaving Limited Time for Lawmakers to Make NY Sports Betting Legal This Session.
New York’s General Assembly adjourns on June 20 and just last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo said he didn’t believe that sports betting legislation would become law before the session ended. On Monday, legendary New York Yankees manager Joe Torre met with Cuomo to lobby for the integrity fee that the pro leagues so desire.
Should the draft bill move quickly through the Assembly, it seems that sports betting in New York could start as early as the fall.
“If they can come to a compromise, they can have it up and running prior to the football season, we’re told,” Batavia Downs President Henry Wojtaszek told WGR Sportsradio 550 Tuesday morning.
