Today, Assemblymember Monica P. Wallace (D-Lancaster) announced that her proposal to allocate a portion of tax revenue from mobile sports betting to youth sports and recreation programs was passed in the 2021-22 budget. Under the budget provisions passed Wednesday by the Legislature, youth sports programs would receive 1 percent of the tax revenue from mobile sports betting during the first year and $5 million per year thereafter. The revenues would be allocated to a grant fund that will be administered by the New York State Office of Children & Family Services and will support youth sports programs for underserved children and teens.

“This pandemic has revealed many things, and one of them is how important participation in youth sports is for the health and wellbeing of our young people.Not only does participation in sports improve physical health, it is also critical to reducing stress and anxiety and building camaraderie among young people,” said Assemblymember Wallace. “This proposal creates a dedicated funding stream to ensure that the state will invest in building healthy generations of children.”

According to the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, people who play youth sports are only 1/10 as likely to be obese, have lower health costs, and have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. Playing youth sports is also associated with lower levels of depression, higher test scores, increased likelihood of attending college, and increased productivity at work.

Increasing participation in youth sports would also create stronger communities. According to Project Play, if 100 percent of youth in Western New York were active daily, the savings would amount to 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 active daily — up from the current 16 percent who exercise daily – would save 10,000 years of life and over $260 million in medical costs and averted productivity losses. 

However, Aspen Institute researchers found that low-income youth 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.

“If you are going to bet on sports, bet as well on the ability of sports to transform the lives of youth,” said Tom Farrey, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, who has written on the topic. “That is the simple, powerful logic of this agreement, and I commend New York for being the first state to put such a model in place. It’s a huge win for children who most need the benefits that sports, when delivered well, can provide.”

“As leaders in this youth sports industry, we teach young people that amazing things happen when we come together to achieve a greater purpose,” said Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, a 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist and Head of Community & Impact and President of FundPlay, LeagueApps. “LeagueApps is proud to have played its role in building a community of support for Assemblymember Wallace’s vision that is now realized in this first-of-its-kind allocation for sports-based youth development programs. This moment will be remembered for New York State’s commitment to its youth sports infrastructure and as one that will achieve our greater purpose to demonstrate how the power of equitable sport will bridge divides and build healthier communities.”

“Our programs are needed now more than ever for the mental and physical health of the youth and families we serve every day,” said Andrew So, Executive Director of South Bronx United. “Yet, nonprofit sports-based youth development organizations committed to low income communities are scraping by, if at all, in a landscape that has only grown more challenging over the past year. This remarkable move by Assemblymember Wallace and state legislators will be a huge boost to help us bring back and sustain programs in communities around the state that need them most."

“Though it’s only a small portion of the mobile sports betting revenue, this funding will have a transformational impact on countless kids,” said Assemblymember Wallace. “We know that playing youth sports has wide-ranging benefits, from better health outcomes to improved academic performance. This program will serve as a national model for other states who are looking to make similar investments in promoting healthy communities.I thank Assemblymember Pretlow, Senator Adaboddo, Governor Cuomo, and my colleagues in the Legislature for supporting this proposal and recognizing the importance of expanding youth sports opportunities for every child in New York.”