Today, Assemblymember Monica P. Wallace (D-Lancaster) called on her colleagues in the New York State Legislature and Governor Cuomo to amend their proposals for mobile sports betting to include dedicated funding for sports and youth recreation for families across the state. Assemblymember Wallace’s proposal calls for allocating 5 to 10 percent of mobile sports betting revenue to a dedicated fund that will help to eradicate barriers that prevent children and teens from working class households from participating in sports.

Growing research has identified numerous positive health and developmental outcomes associated with young people who play or previously played organized youth sports. According to the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, people who play youth sports are less likely to be obese, less likely to smoke or abuse drugs, less likely to become pregnant as a teenager, perform better on tests, are more likely to go to college, have lower levels of depression and higher levels of self-esteem, and earn 7 to 8 percent higher incomes later in life.

However, these same researchers found that youth from working class households participate in sports at far lower rates than their wealthier peers. In fact, children and teens with household income below $25,000 are inactive at almost three times the rate of those with household income above $100,000, according to the Aspen Institute.

Assemblymember Wallace’s proposal is to allocate a small portion of mobile sports betting revenue, between 5 to 10 percent, to a dedicated fund to “level the playing field” and allow all youth across New York to participate in sports and recreation. That revenue can be used to help localities maintain and upgrade parks and recreation facilities, reduce program costs, and expand programs.

“Researchers have found that playing sports helps young people stay healthy, improve their academic performance, and avoid risky and detrimental behaviors,” said Assemblymember Wallace. “Kids who play sports also live healthier lives, which would reduce obesity and save millions in health care costs. So investing even just a small portion of the mobile sports betting proceeds could be transformational in the lives of an entire generation of children and young people.” 

According to John Hopkins University, if 100 percent of youth in Western New York were active daily, the savings would be over 91,000 years of life as well as over $1.2 billion in medical costs and another $1.2 billion in averted productivity losses. Even getting just 25 percent of area youth to exercise daily – up from 16 percent who currently do so – would save 10,000 years of life and over $260 million in medical costs and averted productivity losses.

“Using sports betting proceeds to fund community sports is a game-changing idea,” said Tom Farrey, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, who has written on the topic. “Take from the treetops to support the grassroots, and everyone benefits. We get healthier, happier kids and more active, vibrant communities – the places where people want to raise their families.”

“There is no question that involvement in youth sports and recreation has myriad benefits for children,” said Darren Treadway, director of Daemen College’s Center for Excellence in Youth Sports. “Research has consistently shown that participation in youth sports improves self-esteem, academic performance, interpersonal skills, and overall well-being. However, due to the high cost of participation, children of working-class families across Western New York are left at a developmental disadvantage.”

“There’s also a clear and logical relation between sports betting revenue and participation in youth sports. By investing in youth sports and recreation, we would be providing more opportunities to develop future players and foster a love for the game among the next generation,” said Assemblymember Wallace. “For these reasons, I urge my colleagues in the Legislature to support my proposal to set aside a portion of the mobile sports betting revenue and invest it in the next generation of athletes.”