Both houses of the New York legislature now have sports betting bills to consider and roughly two weeks to hammer them into a single measure to present to Gov. Andrew Cuomo before lawmakers adjourn for 2018.
In other words, the clock is ticking.
Last week saw Assemblyman Gary Pretlow finally introduce a regulatory measure in the Democratic-controlled lower house, more than two months after Sen. John Bonacic’s bill debuted in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority.
The bills are similar in their essentials. Which is not to say there aren’t key differences. The question is whether these can be finessed and enough yes votes obtained before the legislature calls it a year on June 20—a process complicated by an array of competing and influential interests jockeying for a piece of the action in one of the most crowded gambling markets in the country.
It’s also the fourth-most populous market, home of the nation’s largest city, and packed with millions of potential bettors, many of them fitting into younger demographics that don’t normally patronize casinos or racetracks but who can be counted on to wager enthusiastically on their phones and laptops.
So, if there’s one thing everyone agrees on, it’s the enormity of the opportunities—and it has, in the words of the Buffalo News, “set off a full-blown lobbying firestorm in Albany”.
Leading the field are the state’s four new commercial casinos, which have sports betting written into the legislation that authorized them five years ago. Add to these the eight racetrack-based casinos. Then there are the five off-track betting corporations, which together operate some 200 outlets across New York. Last but certainly not least there are the three gaming tribes, most notably the Seneca and Oneida nations, whose six casinos dominate the state’s western and central gaming markets.
That’s not counting racing interests, including tracks, horse owners, trainers and breeders, myriad out-of-state interests𑁋casino vendors and fantasy sports companies like DraftKings and FanDuel𑁋and the online industry, most of it headquartered abroad, which is spending lavishly as well to make its voice heard, according to lobbying records obtained by the News.
Not to be left behind either are the major sports leagues. The National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have been especially visible, with former Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Hall of Famer Joe Torre, now an MLB executive, working the corridors of the Capitol, glad-handing it with lawmakers and posing for photo ops. The National Football League, which appears to be focusing its efforts in Washington on a federal regulatory bill, and the National Hockey League, also have sent representatives. Also reported to be closely monitoring events are groups representing professional golfers, NASCAR and the NCAA.
To be sure, the leagues are determined to be cut in, both for the data they provide and for the costs of ensuring the integrity of the games. And as with most things the devil is in the details: as in, how much should they be compensated and how is the data to be controlled and distributed?
It’s one of the areas where the language in the Bonacic and Pretlow bills differ.
The former provides for a no-strings-attached “integrity fee” of 0.25 percent of wagers capped at 2 percent of win. But it also allows sports leagues to petition the state Gaming Commission to restrict certain types of wagers. And it would require operators use official league data, effectively limiting the information available to them make up various betting scenarios to what the leagues supply.
“That gives the leagues too much control,’’ said Mike Kane, executive director of the New York Gaming Association, a trade group representing the casinos and racinos.
“If the integrity fee was just that and included access to the data, we wouldn’t have a problem with it. But it could restrict the type of bets operators would be willing to take if data costs are too high.”
The Pretlow bill also provides for a 0.25 percent fee, also capped at 2 percent of revenue, but calls it a “royalty” and makes it available to the leagues only via reimbursement. The leagues would be required to submit a claim, meet with the Gaming Commission and provide proof of what was spent on training programs, integrity monitoring and any other related costs.
His bill would resolve the data issue through a system of tiered bets, allowing sports books to use any data they deem appropriate for Tier 1 wagers but limiting them to data provided by the leagues and the NCAA for Tier 2 wagers. A league can also notify the commission that it wants to require casinos to use official league data for Tier 3 wagers.
Beyond that, both bills provide for wagering at the four casinos, taxed at 8.5 percent of win, with racinos and OTBs operating as affiliates. Both also provide for remote wagering, though not everyone agrees on how many branded online operators, or “skins,” should be permitted.
Also to be settled is how revenue will be split among the state, the operators and their online partners.
Then there is the thorny issue of whether remote betting violates the state’s gambling exclusivity deals with the tribes. The Oneidas, for one, have said through a spokesman that in this regard there are “serious questions” that have to be addressed before any bill becomes law.
Cuomo has said he doubts that all this can be resolved before June 20.
He is not alone.
“It will be extremely difficult for anything to happen legislatively in that time frame,’’ said James Featherstonhaugh, a veteran gaming lobbyist and part-owner of the Saratoga Springs racino and racetrack. “I don’t know that it’s impossible, but personally I feel it’s unlikely.’’
Others are optimistic. “If they can come to a compromise, they can have it up and running prior to the football season, we’re told,” said Batavia Downs President Henry Wojtaszek.
“I know there’s enough time,” said Bonacic, whose chamber is seen to be more gambling-friendly but has been absent one member of its narrow GOP majority.
Speaking of Cuomo, a Democrat, he added, “The problem I see, if any, is the governor’s behavior if the Legislature passes a sports betting bill.”
Pretlow said he believes the Assembly wants to move forward, but Speaker Carl Heastie has said he’s gotten no indication his members are of one mind as to how.
