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ALBANY - The NFL, NBA and other sports leagues would keep a cut of bets placed on their games under a new state bill if the Supreme Court throws out a federal ban on sports betting.
Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, Orange County, introduced a bill Thursday that would set up rules and regulations for wagering on sports in New York if the ban is tossed.
Included in the measure is a "sports wagering integrity fee" — a small cut that professional sports leagues and the NCAA would be able to claim for bets placed on their events.
The fee would be .25 percent of all sports wagers placed, though it would be capped at no more than 2 percent of the casino's gross revenues after paying winners.
There would also be an 8.5 percent state tax on gross revenues.
Bonacic, who heads the Senate's Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee, estimated that his bill would pump between $10 million and $30 million a year into the state's coffers.
"We have the chance to ensure our sports betting statute is fully developed and addresses the needs of the state and all stakeholders so we can hit the ground running if and when we can authorize and regulate sports betting," Bonacic said in a statement.
Bonacic's bill, which does not yet have an Assembly sponsor, would be contingent on the U.S. Supreme Court deciding in favor of New Jersey in a case the state argued last year that could invalidate the federal sports gambling ban.
New Jersey argued that the ban should be invalid because it doesn't apply equally around the country, instead allowing certain areas like Las Vegas and Delaware to have sports wagering.
Under current law, the state's four private casinos — including Tioga Downs in Tioga County, Del Lago in Seneca County and Resorts World Catskills in Sullivan County — would be able to take sports wagers if the ban is tossed.
But Bonacic's bill would expand the law to set up a stronger set of wagering rules and allow mobile wagering, though bettors would be required to sign up for a mobile account at one of the casinos or their affiliates.
The NBA, meanwhile, had pushed for an "integrity fee" at a hearing of Bonacic's committee earlier this year.
The purpose of the fee is to "compensate leagues for the risk and expense" sports betting creates as well as the "commercial value our product creates for betting operators," testified Dan Spillane, the NBA's senior vice president and assistant general counsel.
The basketball league was looking for a 1 percent fee on all wagers on its games — four times what Bonacic proposed.
In a statement Thursday, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league prefers a nationwide set of rules rather than state-by-state.
"Our preference is a comprehensive federal approach rather than state-by-state regulation, but we will continue to work with all states seeking our input on a regulated framework that protects the integrity of our game and fairly compensates the NBA's teams and players," Bass said.
An executive for the American Gaming Association, a trade group representing the casino industry, said Bonacic's bill is an "encouraging step."
But the association is opposed to fees that would go to the sports leagues, arguing the leagues would see an uptick in viewership and interest anyway if betting is allowed.
"At this point in time, the industry is opposed to any form of this 'integrity fee' that MLB and NBA are pushing," said Sara Slane, the association's senior vice president of public affairs.
ALBANY - The NFL, NBA and other sports leagues would keep a cut of bets placed on their games under a new state bill if the Supreme Court throws out a federal ban on sports betting.
Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, Orange County, introduced a bill Thursday that would set up rules and regulations for wagering on sports in New York if the ban is tossed.
Included in the measure is a "sports wagering integrity fee" — a small cut that professional sports leagues and the NCAA would be able to claim for bets placed on their events.
The fee would be .25 percent of all sports wagers placed, though it would be capped at no more than 2 percent of the casino's gross revenues after paying winners.
There would also be an 8.5 percent state tax on gross revenues.
Bonacic, who heads the Senate's Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee, estimated that his bill would pump between $10 million and $30 million a year into the state's coffers.
"We have the chance to ensure our sports betting statute is fully developed and addresses the needs of the state and all stakeholders so we can hit the ground running if and when we can authorize and regulate sports betting," Bonacic said in a statement.
Bonacic's bill, which does not yet have an Assembly sponsor, would be contingent on the U.S. Supreme Court deciding in favor of New Jersey in a case the state argued last year that could invalidate the federal sports gambling ban.
New Jersey argued that the ban should be invalid because it doesn't apply equally around the country, instead allowing certain areas like Las Vegas and Delaware to have sports wagering.
Under current law, the state's four private casinos — including Tioga Downs in Tioga County, Del Lago in Seneca County and Resorts World Catskills in Sullivan County — would be able to take sports wagers if the ban is tossed.
But Bonacic's bill would expand the law to set up a stronger set of wagering rules and allow mobile wagering, though bettors would be required to sign up for a mobile account at one of the casinos or their affiliates.
The NBA, meanwhile, had pushed for an "integrity fee" at a hearing of Bonacic's committee earlier this year.
The purpose of the fee is to "compensate leagues for the risk and expense" sports betting creates as well as the "commercial value our product creates for betting operators," testified Dan Spillane, the NBA's senior vice president and assistant general counsel.
The basketball league was looking for a 1 percent fee on all wagers on its games — four times what Bonacic proposed.
In a statement Thursday, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league prefers a nationwide set of rules rather than state-by-state.
"Our preference is a comprehensive federal approach rather than state-by-state regulation, but we will continue to work with all states seeking our input on a regulated framework that protects the integrity of our game and fairly compensates the NBA's teams and players," Bass said.
An executive for the American Gaming Association, a trade group representing the casino industry, said Bonacic's bill is an "encouraging step."
But the association is opposed to fees that would go to the sports leagues, arguing the leagues would see an uptick in viewership and interest anyway if betting is allowed.
"At this point in time, the industry is opposed to any form of this 'integrity fee' that MLB and NBA are pushing," said Sara Slane, the association's senior vice president of public affairs.
