Mobile sports betting bill moves ahead in New York Senate

A key panel in New York’s state Senate approved a bill Monday to legalize sports betting on mobile platforms.

The state Senate’s Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee approved S17A on Monday, according to Yogonet, which would allow commercial casinos in the state to offer mobile sports betting to gamblers currently in the state at the time of their bets. The measure reportedly received support from members of both parties.

{mosads}“This is a cement that’s nearly not yet hardened and hopefully we can mold it, and hopefully we can mold it to be more inclusionary,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D), who also sponsored the bill.

“It’s the future of our state that maybe we include horse racing in with the gaming,” Addabbo added. “We need to streamline our gaming industry. This may not be phase one, it may not be tomorrow, but in the future I envision we streamline and reform the industry by including horse racing.

But some state officials, including New York gaming commissioner Robert Williams, say that the state’s constitution may require an amendment before mobile sports betting would be legal.

“I don’t think we’ve resolved those yet, but it is something that I know from an internal standpoint we’re examining the bill, taking a look at the new bill that was just introduced I think last week and seeing how those relate and whether those help address any of the concerns that we may have,” he reportedly said.

The bill heads next to the Senate Finance Committee and will head to a floor vote if it receives that committee’s approval.