Mobile sports betting money tempts cash-strapped states

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — States around the country are realizing what gamblers figured out long ago: The future of sports betting — and tax money to be made from it — is online.

But they're also realizing that extra tax money isn't nearly enough to turn seas of red ink into black. That was the case even before the coronavirus pandemic blew huge holes in state budgets.

Currently, 15 states plus Washington, D.C., offer mobile sports betting, and several others are considering adopting it. New York is poised to become one of the largest markets in the U.S., passing a budget last week that includes mobile sports wagering after years of opposition by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to sign it.

More than 80% of sports betting in the U.S. is done via smartphone or computer, and New York lawmakers grew tired of watching residents drive, take trains or even ride bicycles across the Hudson River into New Jersey to make sports bets — money that went to New Jersey's casino and tax coffers instead of their own.

“New Jersey in January did $83 million in revenue; New York, which had its highest month ever in history, did $3 million,” said New York Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., who added that 25% of New Jersey's sports betting business comes from New Yorkers. “The disparity between the states that have mobile sports betting and those that don’t is as wide as the Grand Canyon. How much longer can you sit back and watch money just flow out of your state into another state?”

Important details remain to be worked out on exactly how mobile sports betting would work in New York, and it could be 2022 — Super Bowl Sunday is an oft-mentioned target — before its residents can actually make bets online.

Chris Krafcik, managing director of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, which tracks gambling legislation, said as...