The sports books — betting lounges — are below building. The rules happen to be approved.
The following step: By this summer time, you should be in a position to put your money down around the outcomes and action on football, baseball, basketball, hockey, auto racing, soccer and other significant sports.
The New York Gaming Commission today unanimously approved guidelines and regulations for licensing, opening and operating sports betting facilities across Upstate New York.
That makes New York the 14th state to legalize some type of sports betting. Thirteen states have done so since a Might 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a federal law that had effectively restricted sports books to Nevada.
Most estimates say the New York sports books ought to be operating by about Aug. 1 — ahead of the upcoming football season.
The rules authorized these days in the commission’s meeting in New York City have some limits: Players can only make bets in person within the sports lounges in the state’s 4 new industrial (non Indian nation) casinos, or potentially in the region’s seven full-service Indian nation-owned casinos. Bettors are also prohibited from placing wagers on New York college teams, or on collegiate events taking place inside the state.
State lawmakers are operating on some bills to revise the rules — most considerably a proposal to allow on-line betting via mobile devices or home computers. But that should be approved by June 19, when the 2019 state Legislature session ends for the year, and win approval from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Those modifications seem unlikely this year: Cuomo, for instance, has indicated he believes online gambling would require an amendment towards the state constitution, a process that could take two to three years.
The 4 industrial (non-Indian) casinos that could be allowed to host sports books are Resorts Globe Catskills in Sullivan County; del Lago Resort & Casino near Waterloo within the Finger Lakes; Tioga Downs west of Binghamton in the Southern Tier, and Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady. Some of these lounges are already below building.
The Oneida Nation has started building on its lounges, to be located in its big Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona and the Point Place Casino in Bridgeport, and later in the Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango. The Senecas and Mohawks have not yet announced their plans.
Del Lago general manager Mark Juliano said the exact timetable for applying for and obtaining a license to operate is still a bit uncertain.
“But we happen to be tracking with (the state), keeping them aware of what we’re doing,” he said. He believes that communication should help the licensing process proceed smoothly.
Del Lago will operate the sports book in partnership with DraftKings, the Boston-based daily fantasy sports company. It will be a 6,000-square-foor bar/restaurant setting, where fans can watch games on high-defintion LED terminals or around the floor-to-ceiling, video display walls. Players place wagers at 20 self-service betting kiosks or at one from the DraftKings cashier stations. Monitors provide continually updated odds and updates, allowing for for in-game wagers.
“We think it’s going to be an exciting location for our visitors to watch games, have some food and beverages and take advantage of the ability to bet around the action,” Juliano said.
The Oneida Nation, meanwhile, today announced it has hired Las Vegas sports betting veteran Justin Arnett as director of sports book operations at its 3 casinos. He has mostly recently managed racing and sports books in the Venetian, The Palazzo and Lagasse’s Stadium in Las Vegas.
The Oneidas are partnering with Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment to operate the sports lounges, which will also feature bar and restaurant service in addition to betting.