Our scary edition of this weeks gambling news finds hauntingly stupid decisions with New York online betting! The gambling commission there has raised their already ridiculous tax rate to near insanity, and some in the industry fear the move could doom their efforts before they even launch!
Hello my ghoulish friends! And on this special Halloween edition of This Week in Gambling we find all sorts of foolishness from New York online betting! Last week I told you about New York mobile sports betting, and how they plan to launch before the Super Bowl next year. However, as operators are throwing elbows and jockeying for position to gain access to the state, the Gaming Commission seems to be more interested in profiteering.
Back in July, we did a show asking if mobile sports betting in the state of New York was doomed before it ever got started, due to the exorbitant tax rate they planned to place on operators there: 50%! However, after some careful consideration, the state has now raised that tax rate to 64%! Or, in other words, the state’s going to be nice enough to allow operators to keep 36% of what they earn!
Now in other states, the legislature sets the tax rate. After all, they are the lawmakers! But not in New York! Oh no, no! There the tax rate is set by the Gaming Commission, which does make me wonder: What the hell are they thinking? Are they trying to set up this system for failure? Are they just bad at math? Or (and this is probably the winner), are they trying to keep up with their neighbors across the river in New Jersey? Who knows!
