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New York debates the legality of mobile sports betting

The fantasy sports website DraftKings. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Depending on where you live, sports betting has either arrived or is likely coming soon. So how will you actually place a bet? On your phone? Or will you need to do your gambling inside of a sports book? Lawmakers are debating that right now.

What's happening: In New York, state delegates are at a standstill on whether bettors in New York should be allowed to bet using a mobile device.

  • The current law states that "an operator shall accept wagers on sports events only from persons physically present in the sports wagering lounge."
  • Yes, but: The servers where mobile bets are received are in the casinos, so isn't that the same thing? That's what legislators in favor of mobile betting are arguing.

The big picture: What New York does here could set a precedent for every other state. Not sure where your state stands in terms of sports betting legislation? Here's a handy tracker.

P.S. ... Even if mobile betting becomes the norm in your state, you won't be able to place a wager from, say, your beach house a few states over.

  • That's still illegal thanks to the Wire Act, which was originally created to stop mob members from betting on rigged sporting events from across the country.

Go deeper: A 1960s anti-Mafia law complicates legal sports betting

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan
58 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 4: Trump turns on Barr

Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photos: Drew Angerer, Pool/Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. Axios takes you inside the collapse of a president with a special series.

Episode 4: Trump torches what is arguably the most consequential relationship in his Cabinet.

Attorney General Bill Barr stood behind a chair in the private dining room next to the Oval Office, looming over Donald Trump. The president sat at the head of the table. It was Dec. 1, nearly a month after the election, and Barr had some sharp advice to get off his chest. The president's theories about a stolen election, Barr told Trump, were "bullshit."

Go deeper (6 min. read)Arrow
Rebecca Falconer
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: Protests outside fortified capitols draw only small groups

Armed members of the far-right extremist group the Boogaloo Bois near the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing on Jan. 17. About 20 protesters showed up, AP notes. Photo: Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images

Small groups of protesters gathered outside fortified statehouses across the U.S. over the weekend ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday.

The big picture: Some protests attracted armed members of far-right extremist groups but there were no reports of clashes, as had been feared. The National Guard and law enforcement outnumbered demonstrators, as security was heightened around the U.S. to avoid a repeat of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots, per AP.

See photos (<1 min. read)Arrow
Felix Salmon, author of Capital
8 hours ago - World

China's economy grows 6.5% in Q4 as country rebounds from coronavirus

A technician installs and checks service robots to be be used for food and medicine delivery in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, China, on Sunday. Photo: Hu Xuejun/VCG via Getty Images

China's economy grew at a 6.5% pace in the final quarter of 2020, the national statistics bureau announced Monday local time, topping off a year in which it grew in three of four quarters and by 2.3% in total.

Why it matters: No other major economy managed positive growth in 2020. Although the COVID-19 pandemic was first detected in China, the country got the virus under control and became one of the main positive drivers of the global economy even as the rest of the world was largely under lockdown.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow