It’s been a long and hard fought battle, but our gambling news this week finds New York online sports betting finally approved! Internet sports bets could be live before the next Super Bowl… unless a problem arises. And wouldn’t you just know it, a big problem has already surfaced!
Hello friends! Thanks so much for streaming another edition of This Week in Gambling, where we have news about a Las Vegas legend making a comeback… sort of. But first, start spreading the news: it’s this week’s big story!
When New York regulated sports betting back in 2019, it was a major victory for our industry because (as the fourth largest state in America) if sports betting can make it there it can make it anywhere! The problem is sports betting is only legal at land-based casinos, meaning that if a resident of New York state wanted to place a bet on a sporting event they had to be physically at the casino. They had to go down there and place that bet in person!
For years now, State Senators and Assemblymen have been pushing for online sports betting, and it looks like their efforts may have finally paid off! Yes, at long last state legislators and the governor have reached an agreement. And legal, regulated web sports betting could be up and running in time for residents to bet on next year’s Super Bowl.
Of course, not everyone is happy about online sports betting in the State. And here’s where things get interesting: You see the Oneida Indian Nation has an agreement with the state giving them exclusive gaming rights to 10 counties in New York state. And this new regulated online / mobile sports betting creates some serious legal questions about that agreement.
For years there has been this sticky little argument about where an online bet actually takes place. When you have a player sitting in front of this computer at one location, the casino servers physically located at another location, and the casino itself perhaps headquartered and ran from a third location… well, I guess you can see how this point is a bit debatable.
The problem is there has been no legal precedent set about this issue… at least none that I could find. And until there is, these sorts of questions are going to continue to come up. Questions about who has jurisdiction, who can collect the tax revenue, and yes… who has exclusive gaming rights. Could this legal issue delay the launch of mobile and online sports betting in New York state? Absolutely it could! But this is a question that’s been in search of an answer for years now. And what happens next in New York state could set that precedent for decades to come.
Now, if you’re an animal lover we have two new game reviews to share with you this week… both from Play’n Go. One’s about a mule and one’s about a bull! First up it’s the Minor Donkey Trouble online slot, with five cascading reels and seven rows. It comes with a bonus round and bonus spins, plus wild and scatter symbols. Next up it’s Bull in a China Shop, a five real game with 20 pay lines. There are four different Bull Symbols which act as wilds, and you can play this game on your mobile device. Find both of these reviews and hundreds more when you visit our YouTube channel.
Finally this week, a Vegas legend is set to make a comeback of sorts. Boyd Gaming has teamed up with FanDuel to resurrect the Stardust Casino… but only online! The Stardust Online Casino will only be available in Pennsylvania and New Jersey… at least for now. Personally, I feel that if they really want to bring back the spirit the true nature of the Stardust, then they’re going to have to find a way to make people’s computers smell like 30 year old cigarette smoke.