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Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who in January signaled support for a limited rollout of sports gambling, told WAMC News on Monday that he is "not a fan" of expanding that form of betting to the internet. The governor also downplayed the potential economic benefits that could come with mobile wagering in New York.
Nearly two months ago, state regulators approved narrow rules that would only allow sports gambling at Native American-owned casinos and the four private gaming halls upstate, including Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady.
Cuomo described the plan as an attempt to "fortify" the upstate casinos.
The limited Blueprint, which will soon be subject to a 60-day public comment period, is based on the restrictive gambling language in the state constitution.
If we want to expand it beyond the land-based casinos ... we need a constitutional amendment," state Budget Director Robert Mujica told reporters when the state budget was revealed in January.
Despite this interpretation, industry stakeholders and some state legislators are still pushing for online sports wagering.
The budget resolution approve by Senate Democrats last week would allow the full-scale upstate casinos to offer sports gambling online. Other gambling operators — including off-track betting corporations, the New York Racing Association and the video lottery terminal parlors known as racinos — would still be excluded from participating.
As adopted by the Senate, the casinos would each pay a $15 million license fee, be subject to an 8.5 percent tax rate and direct a tiny fraction of their revenue to professional sports leagues as a "royalty fee." Unlike the 2013 law that served as the framework for draft regulations recently crafted by the state Gaming Commission, the proposal also allows bets on collegiate sports.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who in January signaled support for a limited rollout of sports gambling, told WAMC News on Monday that he is "not a fan" of expanding that form of betting to the internet. The governor also downplayed the potential economic benefits that could come with mobile wagering in New York.
Nearly two months ago, state regulators approved narrow rules that would only allow sports gambling at Native American-owned casinos and the four private gaming halls upstate, including Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady.
Cuomo described the plan as an attempt to "fortify" the upstate casinos.
The limited Blueprint, which will soon be subject to a 60-day public comment period, is based on the restrictive gambling language in the state constitution.
If we want to expand it beyond the land-based casinos ... we need a constitutional amendment," state Budget Director Robert Mujica told reporters when the state budget was revealed in January.
Despite this interpretation, industry stakeholders and some state legislators are still pushing for online sports wagering.
The budget resolution approve by Senate Democrats last week would allow the full-scale upstate casinos to offer sports gambling online. Other gambling operators — including off-track betting corporations, the New York Racing Association and the video lottery terminal parlors known as racinos — would still be excluded from participating.
As adopted by the Senate, the casinos would each pay a $15 million license fee, be subject to an 8.5 percent tax rate and direct a tiny fraction of their revenue to professional sports leagues as a "royalty fee." Unlike the 2013 law that served as the framework for draft regulations recently crafted by the state Gaming Commission, the proposal also allows bets on collegiate sports.
