Vegas Comes to New York!

Vegas Comes to New York!

Legal sports betting hit an all-time high during the first week of NFL (National Football League) games last week!  According to Tech Firm Geo Comply Solutions, there were 58.2 million betting transactions between the Thursday September 9th, and Sunday (September 12th) Night Football games.

Since 2020, legal sports betting transactions have doubled.  Much of this is because of the increase of many states allowing legal sports betting via mobile phone and/or in-person. 

New York State is losing millions of dollars, mostly to New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  It is not a coincidence that New Jersey, earlier this year, announced a “balanced budget” and made FULL PENSION PAYMENTS for the first time in over 25 years!

There are 22 states (including New York State which is a few months away from launching mobile phone sports betting) that currently allow legal sports betting. 

Currently, 9 states (including Connecticut) have passed the law and are in difference stages of implementation.  Fifteen states are in the process of legalizing sports gambling and there are only 2 states (Idaho and Wisconsin) that have not had any publicly announced bills devoted to sports betting legalization. 

A few interesting legal state scenarios include:

  1. New Jersey: On June 18th 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed the sports betting bill that had passed the previous week.  Three days later, the William Hill sportsbook took bets at Monmouth Park, where Phil Murphy was first in line to place a bet.  The Borgata in Atlantic City booked sports bets 30 minutes later.  Other sports books have popped up, such as FanDuel’s first sports book at the Meadowlands which opened 1 month later.  New Jersey allows mobile and in-person legal sports betting.
  2. Delaware: On June 5th, 2018, Delaware moved to offer single-game betting on a number of sports at 3 casinos in the state.  Expanded betting can take place at additional locations and on-line. Delaware allows in-person betting only with NO betting on in-state college teams.  There is no betting permitted on games involving in-state college sports teams!
  3. Pennsylvania: The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course booked the first legal sports bets in Pennsylvania in mid-November 2018. 
  4. Washington DC: In June 2020, the D.C. Lottery launched it’s “GameBetDC” platform, allowing consumers “to wager while in the District on major sports worldwide” via computer or mobile device.  The William Hill Sportsbook opened up inside the Capital One Arena in Washington marking the first sportsbook to open inside of a U.S. arena!
  5. New York State: A law was actually passed back in 2013 allowing legal sports betting at 4 on-site locations, all in upstate New York.  As per ESPN.com, the law was revived after a Supreme Court ruling in 2018.

What does this all mean for New York, you might be asking yourself?  Just like with legalized Marijuana, New York State has “dropped the ball” and lost many millions annually to New Jersey. 

Since mobile phones are tracked for sports betting, I have read and heard stories of Manhattanites riding their bicycle over the George Washington Bridge to the New Jersey side, placing their bets, then riding back to the New York side.

Draftkings and FanDuel have early market share and name recognition.  When my Aunt Carol (who is a scholar and dislikes sports) referred to a catchy Draftkings commercial saying “make it rain” 2 years ago, I knew this would be in the mainstream immediately.  The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) allows fans to bet during fights as odds change in between rounds. 

The downside to legal sports betting in New York State is that gambling is an addiction, and this will only make it worse.  There must be new levels of support, safeguards, and counseling available to the current and new gambling addicts. 

On the positive side, New York State’s and New York City’s coffers could certainly use the much-needed revenue generated by legalized sports betting.  It could go a long way towards helping to solve the problems such as homelessness, overcrowded jails, climate reform and a crumbling infrastructure.

What are your opinions on legal sports gambling?  Feel free to email me @ rob@insurancedoctor.us

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