When the New York state budget reached its conclusion, two sports betting proposals got sent packing:
- Proposition bets for future awards like Rookie of the Year, MVP, etc.
- Problem gaming funding
The legislature will revisit both items in a post-budget session, Senator Joe Addabbo told LSR.
“To me, that was a no-brainer,” Addabbo said. “Prop bets, we’re going to look at. I’m always more confident in my side (the Senate) than the Assembly side, but we’ll look to do prop bets post-budget as well.”
Online sports wagering funnels $6 million a year to problem gaming. The added 1 percent tax would have sent another $3 million into the coffers. The New York Council on Problem Gambling would have funded a 24/7 peer to peer service.
Online sports betting generated $898.5 million in tax revenue between April 2023 and March 2024.
“It gives me some homework to do. I just hate missing an opportunity,” Addabbo said of the changes, per LSR. “This is their thing. It came from them. And to shoot them down, I thought, ‘Fine. Ok. We’ll look to pass this in both houses, and then let’s see what the Governor does.’ It’s frustrating.”
An online casino element backed by Addabbo also failed. He expressed a desire to accelerate awarding the three downstate casino licenses.
“Because those three licenses sitting on a shelf for the next three years, with thousands of jobs and billions of dollars for the state, that does New Yorkers no good at all,” Addabbo said. “I’ll always remain optimistic that we can at least have a conversation.
