Betting on athletic events is now possible from the comfort of one’s own home in New York City. But wait, is online gambling legal in New York? The answer is Yes! Four mobile betting companies were given the go-ahead by the New York Gaming Commission to begin accepting bets on Saturday, making New York at least the 18th state to enable some sort of online sports gambling. All of New York’s mobile betting applications had received the all-clear from the state’s gaming commission, joining neighbouring states like New Jersey and Connecticut.
Why is New York Finally Allowing Betting in the State?
Since the Supreme Court of the United States overturned a nationwide prohibition on sports betting in 2018, gambling interests have been aggressively pressing New York to allow sports betting and mobile betting.
Sports wagering will commence in New York’s private and Native-owned casinos in 2019. A mobile betting provision was buried away in the state’s $215 billion budget plan, negotiated by Cuomo and legislators in April of this year. Mobile sports betting companies will have to pay a tax of 52% of their gross earnings to the state. If that’s the case, the state stands to gain a lot of money: The state’s Division of Budget anticipates that mobile betting would bring in more than $480 million a year to the state’s coffers when it is fully implemented.
Most of the state tax income from mobile betting will be distributed in the same manner as traditional gaming earnings. About 85% of the money is set aside for two distinct purposes: funding public elementary and secondary education, as well as providing assistance for homeowners burdened by high property taxes. There were two further uses for which the mobile betting legislation identified money. Gambling addiction treatment and education will get 1% of state income from mobile wagering taxes for the first year. It will cost $6 million a year in the future. In the first year, another 1% will be allocated to state grants for underprivileged child sports programmes. Five million dollars a year will be allocated to this cause in the future.
With saying all this, it officially means that you can play a wide range of casino games and also wager on your favourite sports around the world like soccer, tennis, cricket, golf and much more, just be careful that you play safe and by the rules.
