A New York Senate budget proposal includes futures tournament betting as well as an expansion of sports betting props intended to boost revenues from the state’s wildly successful mobile wagering industry.
Room to Grow
New York State Senate Racing, Gaming & Wagering Committee Chair Joe Addabbo has been at the vanguard of sports betting in New York. And now the senator is proposing a menu expansion that will generate even more revenue for the highest-grossing mobile betting market in the nation.
According to a 2023 Q3 study released by the US Census Bureau, the Empire State generated 37% of the nation’s sports betting revenue. New York collected $188.5 million of the country’s nearly $506 million in national tax and gross receipts during those three months.
To put that figure into perspective, New York posted almost five times the $38.6 million that second-place Indiana reported. Ohio was third with $32.9 million followed by Illinois ($32.4 million) and Pennsylvania ($28.8 million). But Senator Addabbo believes there is even more room to grow and has been a vocal proponent of expanding the betting options for New York bettors.
“We always are out there looking at how to make the New York mobile sports betting product better,” the senator said.
Menu Expansion
Although New York has put online casino gambling, also known as iGaming, on the back burner for now, the newest Senate budget has included the possibility for futures wagers such as tournament or game MVP. Also up for consideration are unique wagers in national sporting events like the Super Bowl, which could include coin flips, the color of the Gatorade poured over the winning coach and even the length of the national anthem sung before the NFL championship game.
“The Super Bowl, March Madness, these are the iconic sports betting event days so we look forward to this time of year. [It] certainly does benefit our educational system as the money does go to education, but mobile sports betting still in New York is a very solid, robust business,” commented Senator Addabbo.
Addabbo further stated, “I want New Yorkers to have the same product or even better product than other states have it and other states have those kinds of bets. There’s no reason why New York should not within a safe measure.”
Problem Gambling Programs
New York’s education system has been the chief beneficiary of the roughly $2 billion collected since the launch of sports betting on April 6, 2021. Nevertheless, many legislators believe there is even more revenue to be had, which would further bolster the tax coffers supporting education in the state.
But the Senate budget also recognizes the adverse ancillary effects of mainstream sports betting, which is why they are also considering directing more money towards problem gambling programs. The initiative would set aside 1% of the sports betting proceeds and a minimum of $6 million guaranteed to organizations like the New York Problem Gambling Helpline and the New York Council on Problem Gambling.
“I believe anything that has a fiscal implication, and we’re not talking hundreds of millions of dollars, but we are talking about improving a product for the sake of New Yorkers, it should be in the budget,” said Addabbo as quoted in the Senate budget report.
