A New York State Senate committee today voted unanimously to advance legislation that would allow sports betting kiosks at the state’s professional sports stadiums and arenas, plus add fixed-odds horse racing to statewide mobile betting options.
All seven members of the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee voted in favor of sending S7536 to the Senate Finance Committee for its review. Approval by that committee would move the bill closer to a full Senate vote during the current legislative session in Albany.
Besides pro stadiums and arenas, the bill would also allow sports betting kiosks at horse race tracks, licensed off-track betting facilities, and VLTs at Aqueduct in New York City, according to the legislation sponsored by Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering chair Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr, of Queens. The kiosks would be operated by any of New York’s nine mobile sports betting operators through state-regulated affiliate agreements with sports stadiums and arenas, tracks, and OTBs.
“We’re looking at an original vision we had about putting kiosks in the stadiums, arenas, and race tracks. (And) we’re trying to marry horse racing and mobile sports betting,” Addabbo (D) said before today’s vote.
The legislation is Addabbo’s latest move to expand sports betting statewide after the über-successful January 2022 launch of New York mobile sports betting. Nearly $2 billion has reportedly been wagered by mobile in New York since the state’s Jan. 8 launch.
New York mobile sports betting was authorized under the 2021 state budget through provisions negotiated by Addabbo and Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee chair Rep. J. Gary Pretlow of Mt. Vernon.
How NY Sports Betting Kiosks, Fixed-Odds Would Work Under S7536
Pro sports venues, race tracks, OTBs, and the Aqueduct VLT operation would have to partner with a New York-licensed mobile sports betting operator before they could open sports betting kiosks under Addabbo’s proposal.
Additionally, mobile sports betting operators looking to add fixed-odds horse race betting to their offerings would have to sign an agreement with the horse racing industry.
Nine mobile sportsbooks are licensed to operate in New York state via betting servers run out of four commercial upstate New York casinos.
The addition of sports betting kiosks at partner sites and fixed-odds horse race betting by mobile “is expected to result in billions of dollars of tax revenue for the State of New York,” says a summary to S7536.
Sen. Pamela Helming of Canandaigua in western New York State and a member of the Senate Racing, Wagering, and Gaming Committee, seemed to want assurance before today’s vote that S7536 would benefit OTBs in her part of the state. Helming (R) asked Addabbo specifically how much new revenue would come to the OTBs under the bill.
Addabbo said the legislation is “uncharted territory,” meaning any additional revenue is new revenue, “to an extent, with the kiosks.” That seemed to satisfy Helming, who voted to advance the bill.
“I think we can all agree this is a potential positive for our OTBs – something the western region OTB that does such a fantastic job can anticipate increasing revenue opportunities down the road,” she commented.
When Could NY Sports Betting Kiosks Arrive?
Sports betting kiosks could be at licensed OTBs and tracks around New York state sometime this summer under S7536 – but New York bettors should expect to wait longer for self-service kiosks at pro sports stadiums and arenas.
The legislation states the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) “shall not approve any such agreement between a mobile sports wagering operator and a professional sports stadium or arena until six months after the effective date of this paragraph (in the bill).”
No specific date is given in the bill. But, depending on how soon S7536 passes — and how quickly the NYSGC acts after the six-month moratorium is up — New York sports bettors just may find some kiosks at Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Citi Field, and other in-state venues sometime in the fall.
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