Could New York Put the Brakes on Live Betting?

Live betting is one of the most popular forms of sports wagering in the United States. But if a bill proposed in the New York Assembly passes, it could be restricted or even disappear entirely in the Empire State.

Assembly member Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) has proposed Bill A9343, which would remove “in-play bets” from the list of legal bets available at New York sportsbooks. The bill would have to clear both chambers of the New York legislature and receive Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature, but if it did, it would take effect immediately.

What Does Bill A9343 Address?

It’s unclear as to what Rosenthal’s bill exactly targets, as it specifically focuses on removing the phrase “in-play bets” from Paragraph X of New York’s Racing, Pari-Mutuel and Breeding Law. That’s the law that permits sports wagering in New York, and it notably includes the phrase “in-game wagering” along with “in-play bets”.

Rosenthal’s bill does not touch the phrase “in-game wagering”, which opens up speculation as to the difference between the two categories. One possibility is that Bill A9343 would target bets on specific plays, known as micro-betting, while leaving in-game bets on things such as spreads, totals and moneylines untouched.

That approach would mirror similar legislative pushes in New Jersey and Ohio. In November, the New Jersey Senate floated a bill to specifically ban micro-betting in the Garden State, while leaving live full-game prop plays legal. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine initially floated a ban on micro-betting in the Buckeye State, only to back down when MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced an agreement with sportsbooks to cap MLB micro-betting at $200 per play and forbid micro bets from being included in parlays.

Rosenthal has yet to speak publicly on the intentions of her bill, and the text isn’t clear enough to determine what Bill A9343 would target without her clarification.

How Are Bettors Affected?

If Bill A9343 becomes law, New York residents would see another limit on what the Empire State allows them to wager on. Already, New York forbids college player props and bets on New York college teams, which means no action can be taken on the likes of popular local teams like Syracuse and St. John’s.

But while New Yorkers can easily bet on the Orange and the Red Storm by crossing into any state New York touches, evading a micro-betting ban would be harder, especially if New Jersey takes the same route. If this bill passes, micro-betting would immediately disappear in New York, and could fade away in the Northeast altogether.

How Is the Industry Affected?

Even though sportsbooks might not want to deal with this restriction, they have little choice. As the largest state in the country that allows legal sports betting, New York has a lot of leverage with the biggest sportsbooks. Already, the state extracts a 51% gross gaming revenue (GGR) tax from sportsbooks, who pay it because they want access to New York’s pool of approximately 15.5 million legal bettors.

If Rosenthal’s bill gains momentum, New York sportsbooks might collectively announce their own limits on micro-betting to try to make the bill unnecessary. With live and micro-betting both highly popular among customers, sportsbooks would rather police them themselves if they can.