NY Daily
Mafia bosses shouldn't be the only ones
profiting from New Yorkers' billion-dollar-a-year gambling habit. The
state deserves a cut, too, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes
said yesterday.
Hynes, a Democrat running for a fifth term in a hotly contested race,
called for the state to legalize all sports betting - even as he
announced the Super Bowl Sunday arrest of 12 alleged bookies.
The dozen New York City men were charged with running mob-backed
illegal gambling rings that pulled in more than $100 million a year,
Hynes said.
"This is a cash cow for organized crime," Hynes said. "This is not a victimless crime."
Illegal gambling yields $15 billion to $30 billion a year in the city and about $100 billion nationwide, Hynes said.
Hynes said the state could encourage safe gambling practices if sports
bets were legal. Nevada, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Montana all have
legalized sports gambling.
The legalized-betting stance is new for Hynes, who is facing six Democratic challengers in his bid for reelection.
Opponents argue it would put more people in debt. And sports officials
have repeatedly argued against state-sponsored gambling, claiming it
tarnishes the reputation of the sport involved.
Even if the state Legislature signed off on legalized betting, it
wouldn't get rid of underground gambling, according to a spokesman for
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
"It's never going to go away," Capt. Louis Lombardi said. "Bookies are always going to pay better odds than the state. Always."
