Cuomo Signs Senator Lanza' S Law Requiring Racing and Wagering Call Centers to Be Located in New York State

New law keeps telephone betting jobs in New York 

On Tuesday, August 16, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed a law, authored by Senator Andrew Lanza, that will require all state-licensed telephone wagering call centers to be located in New York.

Senator Andrew Lanza said, "New York's workforce is second to none and it is only appropriate that we require racing and wagering jobs to be based right here in the Empire State. Governor Cuomo has shown tremendous leadership in both bringing the telephone betting  jobs back to New York and helping jumpstart our state’s economy, and I thank him for signing my bill into law."

The legislation comes after Senator Lanza learned of NYRA’s new contract with an out-of-state telephone wagering company which would have outsourced jobs to Oregon. Lanza immediately introduced legislation to ensure that any activity under the contract would be done by New Yorkers, and Governor Cuomo successfully pressured NYRA to redo its contract. On August 8, the Governor announced that the jobs would return to New York and a new call center would open in Amherst, creating up to 60 jobs. Lanza’s law requires that all call centers which accept pari-mutuel wagering for state-licensed entities be located in New York. It takes effect in 120 days.

"My first priority is to rebuild our state’s economy, and this starts with keeping jobs here in New York," Governor Cuomo said. "We have already brought call center jobs back to New York and today's signing ensures that future telephone betting jobs are based here in our state. I thank Senator Lanza and Assemblyman Pretlow for their work on this legislation."

Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow said, "The telephone betting industry is an important part of New York's economy and I applaud Governor Cuomo for signing this legislation to keep these jobs in New York. We must continue to work to attract businesses and create jobs, and these efforts begin by doing all we can to make sure jobs stay here in our state."