Sports Betting Legislation Updates in Arizona and New York

Lawmakers are working hard to legalized mobile sports betting in their jurisdictions. Supporters of mobile sports betting in New York and Arizona are confident that sports betting legislation will finally go through their specific legal hurdles.

Here is where the states stand going into the most vital week for sports wagering legislation this year. Both states expect their lawmakers to work on legalizing mobile sports wagering this year.

Sports Betting Legislation in Arizona

The House of Representatives passed a mobile sports betting act. Governor Doug Ducey, sports betting software suppliers, sportsbook operators, pro teams, and tribal gaming stakeholders support the sports betting legislation.

The House’s mobile sports betting bill opposed a similar bill that would legalize historic horse racing terminals. However, most sports betting stakeholders are not in favor of such terminals because they act like slot machines. Legalizing historic horse racing terminals would break the multi-year gaming compact deal between the gaming tribes and the governor. The negotiations have stalled the legalization of sports betting in the state.

Supporters of the House bill believe that they will get enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill. According to bookie pay per head sources, the bill’s supporters need to work with historic horse racing supporters before the current session’s deadline.

New York Sportsbook Legislation

According to a political forum, both the Assembly and Senate passed online sports betting legalization within the budget bills. Also, the two chambers made compromises to have identical versions of the budget.

The Democrats support mobile sports betting in the state. Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a single operator. However, lawmakers want more competition in the online sportsbook market. Thus, the legalization of sports betting stalled for months.

Sports betting insiders wait to see if the governor will back down from a monopoly and allow more operators in the state. New York needs to solve its budget deficit, and sports wagering is one way to augment the state funds.