New York Makes Moves to Legalize Online Casino Gaming

A bill to legalize online casino gaming in New York has been introduced into the state Senate.

Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr introduced Senate Bill S4856, which aims to amend New York’s Racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law. The proposal includes article 15 - a new section of the legislation which accounts for iGaming regulation within the state.

If passed, the bill would see New York become the seventh US state to legalize online gambling, following New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, West Virginia and Delaware.

License Requirements

Any licenses granted will last for 10 years. The licence fee is set at $2 million, which could rise to $10 million should the licensee use branding from an existing platform provider.

The types of businesses who could qualify for the licenses include racetracks, destination resort casinos, Indian tribes that have entered into gaming compacts and operators with existing online sports betting licenses.

Three interactive licenses are also on offer, which would be granted if the licensee is partly or wholly owned by members of a minority group.

Gambling Regulations

The bill also contains a clause which states the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) would be prohibited from granting licenses to companies that have or continue to conduct gambling operations in markets where it is illegal.

Licensees would also be charged a tax of 30.5% on gross gaming revenue (GGR), which would be funneled into the state lottery fund for educational aid.

The state would also distribute $11m from said fund annually to be used for responsible gaming education and treatment purposes.

Breaking Gambling Revenue Records

Attempts to legalize online gambling coincide with New York breaking its own records for sports betting revenue and handle for January 2023.

Handle for the month came to $1.8 billion, beating out the previous record of $1.7 billion wagered in January 2022.

In terms of revenue, New York recorded figures of $149.9 million - a $640,000 increase from the previous record set in November 2022.

FanDuel Casino proved to be the pacesetter in both categories, generating $726.7 million in handle and $81.9 million in revenue.

DraftKings Casino came in second place, with figures of $593.4 million for handle and $39.8 million in revenue.