Sports betting approved for four New York casinos

On Tuesday, the New York State Gaming Commission approved several sports betting regulations that will allow four casinos in upstate New York to build sportsbooks and offer sports wagering, possibly as soon as this spring.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proclaimed he was ready for this action during his State of the State address on 15 January. (photo by Wikimedia Commons)

The four casinos are Tioga Downs Casino; Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady; del Lago Resort & Casino; and Resorts World Catskills, the $1.2 billion resort casino that celebrated its grand opening early last year.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proclaimed he was ready for this action during his State of the State address on 15 January.

In his speech, Cuomo said, “Let’s authorize sports betting in the upstate casinos. It’s here. It’s a reality, and it will generate activity in those casinos.”

Since the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was unconstitutional back in May, seven states have introduced legalized sports wagering: New Mexico, West Virginia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Delaware.

As far as mobile sports betting goes, a bill was introduced by five New York lawmakers which will aim for creating a task force to study mobile sports betting. It will be interesting to see how the conversation for online sports betting continues for New York, since New Jersey’s mobile sports wagering was responsible for more than half of the state’s handle last year.

JUST IN: 5 New York lawmakers introduce a bill to create a task force to study mobile sports wagering. https://t.co/Mzdc5C0XMy
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) January 30, 2019

The next step in this process is a 60-day period for public comments, which will then be edited and sent to the commission for the final vote.

These regulations could be put into place as early as April. New York could be seeing the final vote by the New York State Gaming Commission right after March Madness concludes.