Online sports gambling, both on the games themselves and in daily fantasy sports, may have taken a step backward with the latest ruling from a New York appeals court.
The ruling covered only daily fantasy sports, which is made illegal, but the wider implications could derail a lucrative New York industry.
The laws governing daily fantasy sports prior to the ruling are Byzantine, and the general public likely misses the nuances of the different aspects of the laws.
Now, however, it’s become brutally simple: Daily fantasy sports are illegal.
Among supporters of online gambling, the burning question is, “Is everything else next?”
The ruling, which overturned a 2016 decision by the state legislature, states that the legislature overreached when it said that daily fantasy sports were not gambling under New York’s constitution.
More than a dozen fantasy sports companies are now suddenly out-of-luck.
Still, there are legal questions, such as, “Is it still legal to bet online instead of at First Nations’ casinos?” One argument is, “Yes, it is because online and in-person betting are not the same thing.”
The other part of that argument is that New York needs the income from sports betting to cut into its $6.1 billion budget deficit.
New Jersey’s success is also key to this argument. It made $25 million in one month.
Others argue that even $25 million a month would take nearly two years to pay down the deficit even if every single dollar was put toward it and no spending increased.
The further argument is that the First Nations will likely object to the entire process, which would drag out interminably in the courts, making the $25 million prize a phantom that will never materialize.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo thinks he might have a solution, however.
His idea is to put the online betting computer servers inside the First Nations’ casinos, which would, in his mind, circumvent the court ruling because of a lack of jurisdiction.
Because the people placing the bets would not be on First Nations’ land, however, the efficacy of this legal argument remains to be seen.
Addabbo counters that people at the casinos could also place online bets.
After an appeal, the case is now on its way to the highest court in New York State: the New York State Court of Appeals.
During the time that this latest ruling is under appeal, the practice of daily fantasy sports betting is again legal.
The governor’s office released a statement that the only way such online betting, fantasy sports-related or otherwise, would become legal in New York State would be through the constitutional amendment process.
That process would require the state legislature to pass the amendment twice, with one of those instances occurring after an election, and then be sent to the public for a statewide vote.
Addabbo also stated that he believed the state needs to act now to shore up its finances and not after an amendment process.
It will take some serious “Gordian-Knot cutting” with the lower appeals court, Court of Appeals, the legislature, and the governor all need to be on the same page.
The possibility of legal action from any of those participants, not to mention from the First Nations, is considerable.
For these reasons, it is possible, or even likely, that it will be at least three years before this issue is settled.
