New York Examines Options for Regulated Sports Betting

Lawmakers in New York are feverishly examining their options for providing regulated sports betting to NY residents. All this activity is taking place in the shadow of the December 4 Supreme Court hearing at which the State of New Jersey will argue its case for legalized sports betting.
New York is just one of as many as 18 states that would likely legalize sports betting in short order, should the Supreme Court actually side with New Jersey. What makes New York unique is that it shares a border with New Jersey and its residents have easy access to Atlantic City casinos. With legal sports betting on the menu, NY casinos could lose lots of business to AC if they’re not offering sports betting, too.
Under the new laws and regulations being discussed, New York’s racing tracks and racinos would be allowed to offer their customers sports betting products. Indian casinos, however, would not be allowed to offer sports betting.
Even if the Supreme Court does side with New Jersey on the legality of sports betting, New York punters will still be a long way away from legally placing wagers at their local race tracks. Under current New York law, changes like this have to be approved by the citizens before being implemented. The earliest that vote could take place, according to a report in the Times Union, is the fall of 2019.
Of course all of this legal maneuvering is based on the hope that the Supreme Court will rule in New Jersey’s favor, which is by no means a given.