Corona-virus Slows Down Online Gambling Legislation

While US online casinos surge with business because of the Coronavirus pandemic, only eight states can be counted as beneficiaries. In those eight states, the revenue coming from online casino operations is doing little to offset the loss of sports betting revenue, which has come to a halt due to the lockdown of sports leagues and events throughout the world.

While the effects of Covid19 are directly impacting existing online gambling services, the virus is also having an impact on the movement of sports betting legislation in two states (territories): New York and Washington D.C.

In New York, the state legislature had already put together legislation that would legalize sports betting for the state's residents. The state legislature was also working on putting together legislation that would allow for mobile sports betting, perhaps soon to include mobile casino gambling.

With time running out to get a viable mobile gambling solution in front of Governor Andrew Cuomo, state legislators were forced to abort any attempts to get mobile gambling laws in place.

It was a big hill to climb because Gov. Cuomo is concerned over violating the Wire Act of 1961 in exchange for what he termed minimal financial benefit to the state. Whether his concerns were founded in reality or not is of no concern at this point. The Governor has effectively signed a bill that will allow sports betting only. The good news is the bill passed without requiring casinos to limit sports betting to designated lounges.

D.C. Sports Betting Legislation on Hold

The sports betting story out of Washington D.C. is quite different. At the time of the Covid19 outbreak, it looked like the US territory had a realistic chance of having legalized sports betting activities in place by March 31. That would not have been in time for the NCAA Men's and Women's March Madness basketball tournaments, but bettors were expected to have sports betting access for the start of the MLB regular season and the end of the NBA regular season, plus the playoffs.

With all major sports leagues and events on infinite hold, the Office of Lottery and Gaming has decided to postpone the legalization and implementation of sports betting until sports leagues get back to business.

In a press release, Nicole Jordan, director of marketing and communications for the DC Lottery stated that the lottery is “prepared to launch the platform when it is safe for the sports world to return.”