New York To Addabbo 360 iGaming To Its Gambling Hand
Fronted by ‘The Big Apple’, the city that never sleeps, New York State leads the world in so many things.
Yet–and not a lot of people know this–the storied home of the Numbers racket and alleyway gangster dice games of Guys ‘n Dolls fame still doesn’t have legal 360 degree gambling.
The New York State Lottery launched in 1967; off-track betting was legalised in 1970 and online sports betting–now boasting monthly handles in excess of US$2 billion–became legal on January 8 2022.
Currently, the so-called Empire State, population circa 20 million people, has nine sportsbooks, led by Flutter’s FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, et al.
But full-force iGaming has remained tantalisingly out of reach.
Until now that is.
As retail heavy-hitters Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts and Hard Rock International race to build the very first casino resort in New York City, state senator Joseph Addabbo, Jnr., Chair of the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, has introduced a new bill that would legalise iCasino and Internet lottery in the Empire State.
Interactive
NY Senate Bill S8185 is the 59-year-old Senator’s (pictured right) latest legislative try to bring full-gamut gambling to the state, following the failure of his previous attempt, S4856, rejected early last year.
The new bill calls for three interactive gaming licences to be put out to tender to, among others, land-based casinos already operating in the state, established online sports betting operators and Native American tribes, who run gaming facilities.
New York’s State Gaming Commission would oversee the licensing process.
Applicants will need to follow Safe Gambling and Responsible Gambling programmes determined by the Commission and pay a one-off licence fee of US$2 million, putative partners brought-in by successful licensees will have to pay a fee of US$1 million.
The rate of tax to be paid by licence holders has been set at 31.5 percent of GGR.
Only players aged 21-years, or over, will be allowed to legally gamble on the iGaming sites.
“Online gaming, online poker, for example, is very popular,” said Senator Addabbo. “So why miss out on that segment.
“I think it’s [obviously] something that you have to consider.
“But, as we seek to legally and credibly expand gaming in New York, it’s also crucial to grow our resources [to counter] problem gambling.”
