New York Governor Andrew Cuomo finally signed off on a fiscal budget for 2022, officially legalizing online sports betting in the state.
The $212 billion budget bill includes a modified version of Cuomo’s plan for legalizing online and mobile sports betting. But legalization is just the first step, and bookies won’t be taking bets for another few months.
The state will start taking applications on July 1 of this year, with responses from operators due within one month from the open call. At least two winners will be selected, who will then lease out a minimum of four virtual licenses or “skins” to other operators.
The chosen operators will house their mobile betting servers in a New York casino and will pay $5 million annually for the service. The entire process should be completed within 150 days from when the state receives the final application. Initially, the target date was the start of the NHL season in 2021, but a more realistic date for getting everything up and running is early 2022.
Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. stated that the start of the 56th Super Bowl on Feb. 13, 2022 is a good date for testing out the new system. “You don’t want to miss out on another Super Bowl. I think this would be a good benchmark for New York to see how we’re doing,” he told ESNY.
The State Commission may hand out additional licenses to eligible operators, should it “determine that such additional awards are in the best interests of the state.” The chosen winners will agree to pay a fee of $25 million and be taxed at a rate of 12% on all gross gaming revenue generated through their mobile sports betting platform. All licenses will be valid for ten years and have a chance for renewal upon expiring.
