The state is moving ahead on plans to permit in-person wagering sometime later this year at four upstate commercial casinos. Through compact language, three upstate tribes, including the Seneca Nation, will also be permitted to offer the betting in-person at their casinos.

But the lucrative sports betting operations will come from online wagering, not from in-person betting halls. The Cuomo administration has raised legal concerns about online wagering, saying such sports betting would need to be part of a state constitutional amendment. That would take three years, if lawmakers and voters statewide approved the idea.

Enter the legislation by Addabbo and Pretlow. In their first version, the two lawmakers allowed online wagering at the four upstate casinos, none of which have been meeting initial revenue projections that were set when they were awarded licenses by the state.

That first version also allowed for creation of “affiliates," whereby a track or OTB could sign up as a partner with one of the casinos to participate in the sports betting venture.

A second version dropped the affiliate idea, leaving the casinos as the sole players in any future online sports gambling industry in the state.