New York Sen. Joe Addabbo announced plans Thursday to renew his push for legal iGaming in the Empire State next year.
In an email to Gaming Today, the Senate Racing, Gaming & Wagering Committee chair said both online casino and iLottery – which allows consumers to play lottery games like Powerball and instant games from a computer or mobile app – are in his sights for 2024.
New gaming options could boost funding for education and problem gambling programs in New York, the Senator said. Funding from legal mobile sports betting (launched in New York in Jan. 2022) for problem gambling programs is capped at $6 million annually – an amount the New York Council on Problem Gambling would like to see increased.
“I look forward to greater results with the future eventual arrival of iGaming and iLottery in New York,” Addabbo said Thursday. “We should continue to build upon these solid revenue generating opportunities in order to make many additional improvements to our state’s gaming ventures and addiction services.”
NY Mobile Sports Betting Has Generated Over $1B in Tax Revenue So Far
Since launching in Jan. 2022, New York’s nine mobile sportsbooks generated over $1 billion in state education revenue through May 31, 2023, according to the NYS Gaming Commission.
Addabbo was a key player in the 2021 legalization of mobile sports betting in the state. But the Senator’s attempt to include iGaming in New York’s current one-year state budget fell short earlier this year.
No mention of legal online casinos was found in either the House or Senate fiscal year (FY) budgets in March. Gov. Kathy Hochul also left iGaming out of her executive budget proposal last January.
Addabbo told Gaming Today in March that he was going to step away from an iGaming push until more lawmakers, or the governor, were on board. He sounds confident that day would come.
“[If there is] either an initiative on the governor’s side or somebody on the Assembly side wants to start the initiative up again, I’d be more than happy to discuss it,” he told Gaming Today. “I know it’s going to happen in New York. It’s not a question of it, but when.”
About the Author
