New York governor to legalise marijuana and mobile sports betting to fill $15bn budget black hole

A man smokes a joint at a Spleef NYC canna-cocktail party in New York

Credit: Mary Altaffer /AP

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced he will move ahead with legalising recreational marijuana use and mobile sports betting in an effort to raise tax revenue.

New York State is facing an estimated shortfall of $14.9 billion (£11 billion) in tax revenue this year, brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Cuomo said he is looking at removing the prohibition on marijuana and gambling, as well as provide relief for those previously persecuted by the laws.

"Despite the many challenges New York has faced amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, it has also created a number of opportunities to correct longstanding wrongs and build New York back better than ever before," he said. 

"Not only will legalizing and regulating the adult-use cannabis market provide the opportunity to generate much-needed revenue, but it also allows us to directly support the individuals and communities that have been most harmed by decades of cannabis prohibition."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has called for the removal on prohibition in order to generate much-needed cash for the state

Credit: Seth Wenig /AP

Fifteen other states in the US have legalised adult recreational use of marijuana since 2012. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group, those states have raised a combined $6.6 billion (£4.9 billion) in that time.

As for gambling on sport, residents of New York state are currently only permitted to do so on-site at licenced casinos. Mr Cuomo says he wants the state to administer mobile gambling if legalised, in order to maximise revenue.

“Many states have done sports betting but they basically allow casinos to run their own gambling operations,” he said. “That makes a lot of money for casinos, but it makes minimal money for the state. I’m not here to make casinos a lot of money, I’m here to raise funds for the state.” 

Dustin Gouker, an analyst for the gambling trade research site PlayNY, estimates that such a move could yield up to $20 billion (£14.9 billion) in bets. 

“Opening a market that could be worth more than $20bn a year in bets could be a game-changing moment for the entire industry,” Mr Gouker told the FT.