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he New York State Gaming Commission met as scheduled this afternoon, and Sports Betting appeared briefly at the top of the proceedings.
According to the director, regulators are still working to draft a framework for the industry.
Voters authorized NY Sports Betting through commercial casinos under a 2013 referendum, contingent on a change in federal law.
That change came in May, of course, courtesy of the US Supreme Court. The newly activated law directs the commission to promulgate rules for Sports Betting,
but it doesn’t specify a timeline.
Two months later, NY regulators are stuck on the bottom stair with more questions than answers.
Small update from NYS Gaming
There hasn’t been a substantial update on the timeline in a while, and today was no exception.
Acting Executive Director Ron Ochrym said his staff “continues to work on regulations that would effectuate sports gambling under existing statutory language.”
That’s been the default update since May.
Some of the outstanding items Ochrym highlighted are curious, though:
There are, however, a number of thorny policy [inaudible] that staff have been considering, including whether the existing law should be read so as to authorize
mobile wagering without new statutory enactments. And if so, whether to limit the number of skins available,
and whether commercial casinos should be required to subscribe or access official league data for resolution of proposition wagers.
Staff is likely to engage stakeholders and seek[…] industry comment. We want to make certain that the regulations, when proposed, make sense.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a measured approach to crafting regulations. The perceived advantage of
being among the first states to offer Sports Betting is likely overblown. It’s far more important to do it right.
But why are regulators putting so many hurdles in front of themselves?
Mobile wagering, you say?
It’s confusing to hear that the commission is still trying to decipher mobile wagering. As written, NY law seems to lay out a clear prohibition.
Here are the two relevant bits:
A sports pool shall be operated in a sports wagering lounge located at a casino.
An operator shall accept wagers on sports events only from persons physically present in the sports wagering lounge.
Keep in mind that the law is six years old, passed before mobile platforms became predominant for bettors. NY lawmakers involved in the issue understand the need to go back and broaden this language next year.
The commission has a fair amount of leeway, but not so much that it can change the law. Limited mobile betting could be offered
, it appears, but only to patrons physically inside the brick-and-mortar sportsbook. The language seems to prohibit off-site mobile wagering in black and white.
he New York State Gaming Commission met as scheduled this afternoon, and Sports Betting appeared briefly at the top of the proceedings.
According to the director, regulators are still working to draft a framework for the industry.
Voters authorized NY Sports Betting through commercial casinos under a 2013 referendum, contingent on a change in federal law.
That change came in May, of course, courtesy of the US Supreme Court. The newly activated law directs the commission to promulgate rules for Sports Betting,
but it doesn’t specify a timeline.
Two months later, NY regulators are stuck on the bottom stair with more questions than answers.
Small update from NYS Gaming
There hasn’t been a substantial update on the timeline in a while, and today was no exception.
Acting Executive Director Ron Ochrym said his staff “continues to work on regulations that would effectuate sports gambling under existing statutory language.”
That’s been the default update since May.
Some of the outstanding items Ochrym highlighted are curious, though:
There are, however, a number of thorny policy [inaudible] that staff have been considering, including whether the existing law should be read so as to authorize
mobile wagering without new statutory enactments. And if so, whether to limit the number of skins available,
and whether commercial casinos should be required to subscribe or access official league data for resolution of proposition wagers.
Staff is likely to engage stakeholders and seek[…] industry comment. We want to make certain that the regulations, when proposed, make sense.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a measured approach to crafting regulations. The perceived advantage of
being among the first states to offer Sports Betting is likely overblown. It’s far more important to do it right.
But why are regulators putting so many hurdles in front of themselves?
Mobile wagering, you say?
It’s confusing to hear that the commission is still trying to decipher mobile wagering. As written, NY law seems to lay out a clear prohibition.
Here are the two relevant bits:
A sports pool shall be operated in a sports wagering lounge located at a casino.
An operator shall accept wagers on sports events only from persons physically present in the sports wagering lounge.
Keep in mind that the law is six years old, passed before mobile platforms became predominant for bettors. NY lawmakers involved in the issue understand the need to go back and broaden this language next year.
The commission has a fair amount of leeway, but not so much that it can change the law. Limited mobile betting could be offered
, it appears, but only to patrons physically inside the brick-and-mortar sportsbook. The language seems to prohibit off-site mobile wagering in black and white.
