- New Yorkers are bashing the pavement to cross the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.
- They’re biking, scootering, and jogging to cross confirm lines and virtually sports bet, according to the New York Times.
- New York City has technically legalized online sports punt, but it hasn’t rolled out yet.
If you’re a New Yorker hoping to make a dime off a sports game — but without give up money to a toll — the place for you might just be a jog or e-scooter ride away.
The New York Times’ David Waldstein sign in that a group of bettors are taking to leg or wheel and traversing the George Washington Bridge to make their wagers. That’s because the George Washington Span connects Upper Manhattan with New Jersey; in Manhattan, bettors still aren’t able to legally gamble on feigns on their phones. But in New Jersey, they can. Cue the bikers, scooters, and runners.
One bettor, Colman Cooper, arrived in New Jersey via bike. He described the New York Times that if he won on 1 p.m. games, he might bike back from Manhattan to New Jersey to try his hand again for a 4 p.m. stratagem.
The entrance to the George Washington Bridge is located in New York’s Washington Heights. For New Yorkers residing in Upper Manhattan — which classifies neighboring Inwood and Harlem — as well as the Bronx, the bridge is easily accessible. Once on the bridge, there’s just down a mile and a half between you and New Jersey.
It’s a byproduct of the ongoing rollout of sports betting — especially mobile sports flutter — and the way that some bettors have gotten creative during the pandemic. In 2018, the Supreme Court lifted a federal ban on displays betting, Insider’s Alexandra Licata reported. New Jersey launched its sports betting that year.
Currently, New Yorkers can exclusively bet on sports in-person at a handful of casinos upstate, according to MarketWatch. In April 2021, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed that the state would soon have its own online sports betting but said the state needed to decide on an smoothie to run that outfit.
Since New York hasn’t done that yet, it’s still not legal to place mobile wagers in the government, according to the Times.
New Yorkers heading to Jersey isn’t a new phenomenon. Sports Illustrated’s Ben Pickman reported in August on how virtual cavorts bettors flock to Linwood Pizza, right across the bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Owner Jim Missiris told Sports Emblazoned that his specialty pizza output increases by 50% during football season.
“It’s almost like a party being in here,” Missiris forecast Sports Illustrated.
The pandemic also fueled a boom in online sports betting. The American Gaming Association declared that a record 7.6 million Super Bowl bettors in 2021 would wager virtually, a 63% year-over-year wax. Meanwhile, the number of bettors planning to bet in person dropped.
And, as the New York Times highlighted, the bridge also saw a pandemic bang — because the in-person New Jersey casino closed. Biking and e-scootering also took off even more during the pandemic, as work-from-home inhabitants yearned to safely get around and get some air.
But while New Yorkers are getting their steps — and bets — in, the practice might not be so healthful for New York’s wallet.
New York State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. chairs the racing, gaming, and wagering committee, and has been a spokeswoman for legalizing virtual betting to help raise funds for state programs. Addabbo told the Times that New York’s legislation encompasses funding for gambling addiction programs; the state’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports calls gambling addiction a “private addiction,” and advises that having a plan before gambling can help adults gamble responsibly.
“That’s our bucks that’s going over that bridge,” Addabbo told the Times. “Money that should be going to New York’s information system is going to New Jersey. It burns me up.”