It’s going to be tight, but if everything works out the way state Sen. Joe Addabbo thinks it will, mobile sports betting will be in place in New York state by the Super Bowl, which takes place on Sunday Feb. 13.

This afternoon, the New York State Gaming Commission recommended that nine mobile sports betting operators be licensed. 

The FanDuel Sportsbook will include Bally Bet, Bet MGM and DraftKings Sportsbook. The Kambi Sportsbook will include Caesars Sportsbook, PointsBet, Resorts World, Rush Street Interactive and WynnBet. All the licenses will be for 10 years.

According to Sen. Addabbo, chair of the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, the big question about getting mobile up and running by the Super Bowl is the servers. 

“We can have the best providers, but if you don’t have that server that actually accepts and validates the mobile sports bet, that’s the end of the game,” Addabbo told Capital Tonight.

Those servers are the lynchpin to the entire market since the bets need to be routed through a casino property to fit the definition of on-site casino gaming.

Under New York’s mobile sports betting rules which were advocated by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, gross sports betting will be taxed at 51%, which has some stakeholders concerned, but Addabbo is optimistic.

“People see New York as one of the sports capitals, if not the sports capital of the world, and I think there is such an appetite about us entering the sports betting arena that I think the potential is there,” Addabbo said. “I think the potential is there as long as we have a premiere product."

“In a year or so, I think we eclipse New Jersey,” he said.

Here’s more on the battle over how mobile sports betting would be “played” in New York state.

Here’s what Addabbo told Capital Tonight in April about the state’s possible success with this model of sports betting:

“Again, the success of this model is relying on two things. One, asking a New Yorker to stop what they’re doing now. Stop going to New Jersey. Stop going to Pennsylvania. Stop doing it illegally. Get out of their comfort zone and use our product,” Addabbo said. “Secondly, stay with us. That kind of volume is going to be needed for us to recognize any significant kind of revenue.”