The Oneida Nation of Indians on Monday continued to raise concerns with the proposal to legalize mobile sports gambling in New York without a reconciliation of its exclusive gaming agreement across a 10-county swath of upstate New York.
Without an agreement in place, New Yorkers living in those counties could be left out of mobile sports gambling.
At issue is the tribal gaming agreement and how it would fit within the more diffuse world of bets placed on mobile devices. Governor Andrew Cuomo's top aide on Monday afternoon in a news conference call indicated the issue could still be worked out in the state budget, now five days late.
“The way the draft of the bill right now is, is as the governor described, the state would contract with entities who would then contract with the state, and we would get the revenue and they would conduct the online gaming,” Budget Director Robert Mujica said.
But concerns from the Oneida Nation remain in place.
"The Oneida Indian Nation offered a compromise on mobile sports betting that addressed all issues related to its exclusivity. This compromise was approved by the State Senate and Assembly, and supported by Indian and commercial casinos in New York," the Oneida Nation said in a statement after Mujica's comments. "It appears that the State nevertheless is rejecting that compromise. We will review the final language, but we have serious legal doubts about this legislation and the impact it will have on Central New York. We regret that the State is not trying to resolve these issues cooperatively, and we remain open to discussing an outcome that works for the State, the Nation and our entire region."