Opinion: Mobile sports betting can generate millions for education and create thousands of jobs

By Sen. Joseph Addabbo

Legalizing mobile sports betting has been a discussion in the New York State legislature for more than two years, since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to join Nevada and decide if they want to participate in the mobile wagering.

Since 2018, after realizing the loss of revenue and educational funds by New Yorkers crossing the border to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, wagering almost $1 billion in other states according to a 2019 study, and betting on sports illegally, I have been at the forefront, leading the charge to bring legal mobile sports betting to our state. I also acknowledged that New York could better assist an individual with a sports betting addiction if we regulated it in our state, instead of not knowing who the residents are that are going to other states or wagering illegally.

Mobile sports betting will allow New York residents aged 21 and older to place wagers on sporting events directly from their phone or other internet-connected device via an application without needing to be at a fully licensed casino.

It is not like New Yorkers weren’t gambling on sports already. Aside from either venturing to the illegal market or making a quick trip to New Jersey or other neighboring states, residents can travel more than 2 hours from Queens and place a bet physically at one of New York’s upstate casinos.

With New York State facing a major economic deficit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the time was now for us to legalize mobile sports betting. By legalizing mobile sports betting, New York is expected to bring in around $99 million in Fiscal Year 2021-2022. That estimated figure then jumps to approximately $357 million in FY 2022-2023, eventually reaching over $500 million in FY 2025-2026, mostly all of which will fund education in the state. Also, included in the new mobile sports betting law is $6 million and $5 million each year for problem gambling programs and youth sports respectively.

By safely legalizing mobile sports betting, New York State can better recognize and assist those with a gambling problem, and I made it a top priority when pushing for legalization to ensure that a portion of monies gained from mobile sports betting revenue would go towards anti- addiction and problem gambling programs. The legislation that was approved in the budget includes over one dozen safeguards and measures written into the bill’s language.

Another main component of legalizing mobile sports betting is the jobs that it will create here in New York. Once we get mobile sports betting up and running, workers will be needed to maintain the servers, watch the sportsbooks, and a plethora of other jobs to keep the industry running.

I am hopeful that legal mobile sports betting will be ready to go by the end of the year and be fully functional by the 2022 Super Bowl in February. The Super Bowl is the benchmark for mobile sports betting because millions of Americans place wagers in the popular sporting event. It has been shown in other states that allow for mobile sports betting that the Super Bowl is a massive money generator.

According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Garden State residents bet $117 million on last year’s Super Bowl, an increase of 116% from the previous year’s $54 million in bets on the big game. This year’s total brought New Jersey over $11 million in revenue. While it is not currently known exactly how many of those bets were placed online, in December 2020 bettors wagered more than 93% of New Jersey’s betting handle through online sites and it is estimated that 25% of New Jersey’s mobile sports bets are from New Yorkers.

While we do have in-person legal sports betting here in New York, it is clear that the states that allow for mobile wagering are far more successful. New York continues to lag behind other states. However, I am hopefully that with the passage of legalized mobile sports betting, we will soon begin to reap the benefits in terms of revenue, educational funding, addiction programs and jobs.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo represents the District 15 neighborhoods of Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth and parts of South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside and The Rockaways.