- Sports bettors in New York are traveling to the New Jersey border to wager on games.
- New York’s mobile sports betting options could be months away from functionality.
- What happens to these bettors after the NY state mobile sportsbook platforms open is an open-ended question.
NEW YORK - The capricious whims of states and governors control the allocation of sports betting in America, and some enterprising New Yorkers have taken to working around them as best they can.
While mobile sports betting was approved in New York, it is not up and running, forcing New York’s sports betting fans to visit New Jersey to utilize their platforms.
However, the road to New Jersey is full of tolls and often congested, so many New Yorkers have turned to biking over the George Washington Bridge, crossing into New Jersey, and placing bets on their phones.
This situation reveals the seeming pitfalls of gambling legislation in terms of keeping people from their vices - and the lengths that people will go to get their wagers in on sporting events.
New York Losing Potential Revenue
New York State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo is furious at this development, seeing it as money that is fleeing the rightful taxation in New York for New Jersey’s coffers.
“It gives me agita,” said Addabbo, speaking to the New York Times. “That’s our money that’s going over that bridge. Money that should be going to New York’s education system is going to New Jersey. It burns me up.”
Addabbo is the chairman of the New York State Senate Committee on Racing, Wagering, and Gaming, and was a key voice in getting New York’s sports betting bill passed.
New York’s plan expects to have mobile sports betting up and running by February, but many states - most recently Connecticut - have missed important sports betting dates due to unforeseen red tape.
New York: A Big Slice Of The Gambling Pie
When it comes to taxation, Addabbo seems convinced that more is better. In his discussion with the New York Times, Addabbo offered the following when asked about the slice the state would take from the gambling revenue pie.
“Oh, it will be the biggest,” Addabbo said. “This is New York. Come on, we have to have the biggest.”
This could create interesting situations for New York’s sports bettors. What if the odds at New York’s sportsbooks are worse than at New Jersey’s?
Would gamblers still travel to the bridge to gain a small edge? To some degree, seeking out small edges is what sports betting is all about.
How much will that matter to a casual bettor? New York’s gambling revenue could depend on the answer to this question.