The U.S. sports-betting market has surged since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states outside of Nevada to offer such wagers in 2018. Since then, 19 states have begun to offer sports betting and six more have approved it but have yet to put it into operation, according to the American Gaming Association, an industry trade group.
The market is expected to explode to as much as US$10 billion by 2025 from about US$1.6 billion last year, according to the consulting firm Vixio GamblingCompliance. Operators can make even more money by offering casino-like games online, although that doesn’t appear to be part of the New York proposal.
Not all details have been made public. Cuomo said he’s looking to select a single platform to partner with one of the state’s existing casinos. His plan sets off a horse race between technology providers like Scientific Games and International Game Technology looking to compete for the license.
Cuomo said he’d like the system to be run similar to the state lottery to maximize government revenue. The governor, who in the past has pushed back on proposals to legalize online sports betting, noted that the state has been losing betting revenue to neighboring New Jersey, which has become a leader in the industry.
“Many states have done sports betting, but they basically allow casinos to run their own gambling operations,” Cuomo said. “That makes a lot of money for casinos, but it makes minimal money for the state.”
State Budget Director Robert Mujica said at the briefing that New York would only make about US$50 million annually if it went through casinos, but an estimated US$500 million under Cuomo’s proposal.
Source: Bloomberg
