Because an online gaming bill introduced by New York Senator Joe Addabbo was not included in the budget recently proposed by Governor Kathy Hochul, there’s less certainty that it will pass in this year’s legislative session. As a result of the exclusion, it’s unclear if Hochul will support the measure.
With a boatload of tax revenue that comes with the legalization of mobile casino gaming including slots, table games and live dealer games, Addabbo believes he can convince the governor it works for the state. Licenses would be issued—for $2 million apiece for 10 years—to all New York casinos and sports books, and three new licenses would be made available to companies that apply with at least 5 percent minority interest. Taxes on gross gaming revenue would be 30.5 percent.
The bill states: “Interactive gaming is now legal in seven states, including the border states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, while it is permitted only in person in New York at four upstate commercial gaming facilities and Native American Class III gaming facilities,” the bill states. “The Legislature hereby finds and declares that an interactive gaming wager that is made through virtual or electronic means from a location within New York state and is transmitted and accepted by electronic equipment” legal in the state. Under the bill, a request for application will be issue by the state by July 1.
Addabbo and Gary Pretlow, the gaming proponent in the Assembly, both have been frustrated that New York gets no iGaming revenue while surrounding states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut get their fair share in an estimated $4 billion market.
