Along with NY online sports betting the bill, which was tabled on Thursday, February 28, would also allow racetracks and other commercial operations to collaborate with New York state’s four casino. This would give them the ability to set up in-person kiosk-based sports betting ‘affiliates’, creating betting venues at major stadiums like Madison Square Garden (MSG) and Yankee Stadium. MSG already expressed interest and has applied to trademark its MSG brand for sports betting. New York online sports betting, more precisely mobile sports betting, would require customers to apply in-person at a casino or affiliate venue.
Its Constitutionality is Under Question
However, there could be a potential spanner in the works. Following the 2013 vote and constitutional amendment to authorize commercial casino gaming in New York, sports betting was legalized. But in the removal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May 2018, online betting and racetrack betting wasn’t on the agenda. There was even talks that Governor Ander Cuomo believes that legalization beyond the four commercial casinos would need another amendment to the Constitution. This raises the chance that Cuomo may veto the NY Sports Betting Bill, even if it was voted in. Pretlow is optimistic about Cuomo’s stance on the bill. He said that the governor has changed his mind on the constitutionality of online gambling. “I have it on good authority that the governor, who has heretofore said it was unconstitutional, has backed away from that. We’ve not heard the governor say anything about it being unconstitutional in the past few days,” Pretlow said in a panel discussion at the Cardozo School of Law on Friday, March 1. On the other hand, the governor’s office has denied that this Cuomo’s stance on this matter has changed. Pretlow and Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. believe that New York online sports betting is constitutional because they would technically be taking place inside the casinos. The servers, they said, would be processing bets inside the licensed casinos.