As Problem Gambling Awareness Month continues, the New York state a Senate committee has responded by clearing three separate bills that address problem gambling for floor debate.
The Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee passed separate bills to increase problem gambling funding, mandate warning labels on some gambling advertisements, and raise the legal gambling age in New York from 18 to 21.
Before the votes, Committee Chairman Joseph Addabbo, sponsor of the funding and gambling-age measures, said the measures are “our way of raising awareness and addressing the issue” of problem gambling.
The funding bill, S8439, would guarantee millions for problem gambling treatment and education via a 1 percent tax on mobile sport betting, or a minimum of $6 million annually. The legislature approved $6 million last year in a temporary measure. This would make that a permanent baseline.
“As the handle goes up, that $6 million that we put (toward problem gambling programs), which really was groundbreaking nationally, is staying constant,” Addabbo said, according to PlayNY. “So, as we increase the activity of mobile sports betting, that $6 million stays constant. What we’re doing here is hopefully adding more money to problem gaming programs.”
The minimum-age bill, S1557, addresses the fact that the state’s Indian casinos allow patrons to gamble at 18. It would set 21 as the universal age minimum for gambling.
S1550, sponsored by state Senator Leroy Comrie, would require gambling advertisements to include warnings about the risk of problem gambling. It also would require all ads to display a problem gambling hotline number. “This is just another opportunity to raise awareness, Comrie told PlayNY. “I just wanted to make sure that anything that was related to habitual habits would be given a warning.”
