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If you listen closely, you can hear Jeff Gural, the owner of Meadowlands Racetrack, screaming in delight. The state of New York will not have sports betting for this football season.
The New York State Gaming Commission will likely release its regulations for land-based sports betting in the Empire State this month. However, policy requires the new regulations to be vetted for a 60-day period.
That timeframe will overlap with most of this year’s football season. The New York Post got a fairly definitive answer from a casino source.
“The casinos will clearly miss this football season.”
Thus, New York residents must deal with another setback to their sports betting aspirations. In June 2018, the New York legislature failed to pass a sports betting law that would’ve unequivocally allowed the state to offer it.
In the meantime, the casino referendum that allowed for commercial casinos in the state also allows sports betting on those properties. Presumably, the delay in regulations is to iron out what is and is not allowed under the law.
New York casinos need sports betting, too
The delay comes at a time when New York casinos are desperate for active sources of revenue. The four New York commercial casinos are struggling to make ends in the congested northeast US market.
Just in 2018, one of those casinos has already requested a financial bailout. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo denied del Lago’s plea for help in March. Then it asked the state for help again in July.
If that weren’t enough, the newest of the four properties is already in trouble. Resorts World Catskills reported a Q2 2018 loss in excess of $37 million.
The Jets may be looking across the parking lot
However, not all New York interests are letting the sports betting boom pass them by. One of those organizations is the NFL’s New York Jets.
One of the great oddities in sports is that both New York football teams play their home games in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. Ironically, the Jets may be looking for a sponsor within walking distance of the venue.
The FanDuel SportsBook at Meadowlands Racetrack is one of 14 gambling companies meeting with the Jets about a partnership. The Jets are emboldened to find a gambling partner on the heels of the Dallas Cowboys‘ deal with WinStar World Casino.
Sponsorships could draw up to $1 million for the Jets. There is no word about the Jets’ stadium partner, the Giants, entering into a similar deal.
Not yet, anyway. The NFL has been the most proactive and progressive of the major sports leagues since PASPA‘s demise. So, it would not surprise anyone if the Giants found a Garden State partner too.
Businesses follow the money
The truth of the matter is that there is too much money flowing from sports betting for the teams to sit idly by. In just two months of operation, New Jersey sportsbooks accepted $55 million in wagers. Amazingly, that figure comes without the benefit of football’s influence, which should cause the volume to skyrocket.
For God’s sake, New Jersey is just across the bridge for many of them.
Photo by Jeff Bukowski / Shutterstock.com