New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has made a U-turn on his stance on mobile and online sports betting in the state, reassessing the current covid-19 crisis and the gaping deficit business closures have left in the state's budget.
Looking for alternative sources of revenue, Cuomo confirmed earlier on Wednesday that he would seek to authorize mobile sports betting as part of the 2021 State of the State address.
Should the proposal garner the necessary support from legislative bodies, the state's regulator, the New York Gaming Commission, will move forward with issuing licenses to sportsbook to set-up mobile sports betting business in the Empire State.
New York expects one of the most serious windfalls on sports betting with $1 billion in annual taxable revenue, placing the state in a good position to start making up for its budget deficits.
During his address, Cuomo said: “New York has the potential to be the largest sports wagering market in the United States, and by legalizing online sports betting we aim to keep millions of dollars in revenue here at home, which will only strengthen our ability to rebuild from the covid-19 crisis.”
New York has had friends when it comes to sports betting, including Sen. Joseph Addabbo, who has been a long-time proponent of passing a sports betting bill in the state, but has faced opposition from lawmakers for years.
With this exciting announcement, New York may still be heading into crypto betting spaces as well. If so, there will be plenty of great crypto sportsbooks waiting, including Sportsbet.io, Cloudbet, and 1xBit.
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