Democratic Senator Joe Addabbo Reintroduces New York iGaming Bill
Albany, the New York state capital, has revived its efforts to legalize online casinos.
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Queens) reintroduced Senate Bill 856 this week. The law was designed to allow online casino gaming through interactive slot machines and table games. The measure would also allow online lottery games and allow New Yorkers to purchase Powerball and Mega Millions tickets over the Internet.
SB856 is the same bill Addabbo filed during the state’s 2023 legislative session. The bill, if approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and signed into law, would join New York with six other states that have legal, regulated online casinos. These states are Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Rhode Island will become the seventh state when its iGaming marketplace goes live in April.
As it stands, Addabbo's bill would allow the state's commercial and tribal casinos, racetracks and online sportsbooks to apply for iGaming privileges. Three companies with at least 5% minority stakes can also apply.
The license will cost $2 million and associated iGaming profits will be subject to an effective tax of 30.5%. The money will be deposited into the National Lottery Fund, which is used primarily for education.
State Budget Issues
Addabbo is an advocate for gaming in New York State.
Addabbo, chairman of the New York State Senate Racing, Gambling and Gaming Committee, supported the state's 2013 bill that legalized four casinos in the Upstate and three in the South. Addabbo was also the author of the state’s 2019 sports betting law, which legalized in-person and online sports betting.
Addabbo wants to further expand gambling operations in the Empire State to include online casinos. He believes that online gambling will bring more economic and tax benefits than sports betting.
As we prepare to begin a new legislative session, COVID-era federal funding is about to expire and we face a looming and massive budget deficit. At a time when our state is in financial trouble, we cannot continue to allow hundreds of millions of dollars to flow into the pockets of neighboring states or disreputable [offshore casino] companies — especially when those funds could be used to further fund public schools or other institutions. A valuable service,” Addabbo wrote in a City & State editorial last month.
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli projects a federal deficit of $4.3 billion in 2024. He projects the deficit will grow to $8 billion by 2025.
$1 billion windfall
State fiscal estimates indicate that New York State could generate more than $1 billion in new tax revenue annually by legalizing online gambling. Addabbo believes online gambling and lottery sales will not have a negative impact on brick-and-mortar casinos or brick-and-mortar lottery retailers.
All reports indicate that these states experience a net increase in tax revenue from these activities without a negative impact on brick-and-mortar businesses such as casinos and convenience stores that sell lottery tickets,” Addabbo said.
It's unclear whether there's enough interest in Albany to do more gambling. New York expects to issue three substate casino licenses this year, which will transform the New York City region with new entertainment and tourism products in the coming years.
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Source: www.casino.org
