There is a push in New York to legalize forms of online gambling beyond mobile sports betting. Advocates say the state is missing out on opportunities for revenue-making that exist in other states and opportunities to regulate a problematic illegal market, but there is pushback from those who insist such a move would cost jobs and be harmful for those who are experiencing gambling problems.<\/p>\n
State Sen. Joe Addabbo told Spectrum News 1 the state is missing out on a lucrative revenue stream that is already enjoyed by neighboring states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a key factor, how much money New York loses, some say it\u2019s about a billion dollars every year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
New York has been near the forefront of an expansion of gaming options in recent years, in including mobile sports betting \u2014 but has so far not made a serious run at iGaming.<\/p>\n
While much gambling revenue goes toward education, Addabo pointed out that iGaming would be a clean slate at a time when the state is facing a series of tough budgets and will need to look around for revenue to close gaps.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a new product for us, that money is not allocated for anything at this point: do you need money for health care because of the federal budget cuts in Washington, do you need money for transportation, do you need money for veterans?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But more important than the money, he insisted, is the opportunity to regulate an illegal market that is ripe with abuse, and pitfalls for individuals who struggle with problem gaming.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe illegal market is very robust, its a very successful illegal market and that\u2019s the most dangerous because there are no guardrails or safety measures for our participants, our New Yorkers who are gaming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Michelle Hadden of the New York Council on Problem Gambling explained that the council doesn\u2019t specifically oppose new forms of gambling but does have concerns about increased accessibility versus gaming in person.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is time that it takes to get there, there is cost in putting gas in your car, energy and effort to actually make it to the facility, versus I literally roll over in bed in the middle of the night and decide that I want to place a bet,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Hadden also pointed to a lack of reliable data and research into the impact mobile sports betting has had on those with gambling problems, given how recently it was introduced. Beyond that, Hadden said if lawmakers are serious about addressing problem gambling as they push to legalize iGaming, they should write in options for detecting patterns that could indicate someone is getting in too deep.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaying attention to people’s amount of play, extended time, extended limits on how much they are trying to withdraw,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The most significant legislative opposition comes from hotel and casino unions, who insist iGaming would drain away business for in-person destinations and put jobs at risk.<\/p>\n
In the 1970s, the advent of Off-Track Betting drained attendance figures at New York\u2019s thoroughbred and harness tracks as it presented a more convenient option for placing bets in New York City compared to traveling to Ozone Park\u2019s Aqueduct Racetrack or Nassau County\u2019s Belmont Park. Harness tracks were likewise away from the heart of the city.<\/p>\n
Options for playing the races at home have only exacerbated the shift away from on-track attendance.<\/p>\n
Attendance at Aqueduct, where a massive grandstand was built in 1959 to hold crowds of 30,000 people per day and the betting and food service facilities required to accommodate them, dwindled until huge portions of the building were shuttered in the 1990s and Resorts World Casino was eventually constructed within the shell of the old grandstand in 2011.<\/p>\n
Now, only the smaller clubhouse caters to horse players, and the casino takes up most of the real estate where betting machines had once lined the floors. Aqueduct\u2019s racing operations will close next year when a renovated, much smaller Belmont Park grandstand opens. Those who represent the interests of brick-and-mortar casinos, like the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, worry that the same fate could await New York\u2019s casinos if iGaming is legalized.<\/p>\n
While the council didn\u2019t respond to a request for an interview, they have long made their opposition clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Union rejects online gambling, also called \u201ciGaming,\u201d because it threatens our members\u2019 jobs,\u201d the organization said last year. \u201cIf someone can play casino games on their phone from the comfort of their couch, why would they come to a physical casino, where thousands of our members make their livelihoods?\u201d<\/p>\n
Addabbo insisted that the employees of Resorts World, which is in his district, are front of his mind as legislation is written to address industry concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe firmly that there is a way where brick-and-mortar casinos can actually benefit from iGaming. They can cross-promote. I have constituents who work at Resorts World. The last thing I would want is to create iGaming to jeopardize the jobs of my constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Addabbo acknowledged the reality that new technology represents for the status quo across industries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an ever-changing landscape of technology which you cannot stop,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that through those options like cross-promotion between brick-and-mortar casinos and iGaming outlets, the worst of that impact can be managed legislatively.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have confidence that we can write statutory language that would protect and grow these jobs at retail casinos,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is a push in New York to legalize forms of online gambling beyond mobile sports betting. Advocates…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":270679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,13565,17547,17544,17543,51754,405,403,17050,50,5226,5225,5228,17545,43431,5227,80,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,5284],"class_list":{"0":"post-270678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-app-local-state-politics","10":"tag-app-ny-state-of-politics","11":"tag-capital-region","12":"tag-hudson-valley","13":"tag-jack-arpey","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-new-york-state","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-newyork","19":"tag-newyorkcity","20":"tag-ny","21":"tag-ny-state-of-politics","22":"tag-ny-state-of-politics-blog","23":"tag-nyc","24":"tag-politics","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-united-states-of-america","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-usa","31":"tag-vod"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115302055670795642","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}