New York Sen. Joe Addabbo is looking into expanding the Empire State’s gambling market, as he wants to add legal online casino play and internet lottery in the mix. It was recently revealed that the mobile sports wagering market delivered US$1 billion for education, but the Senator wants to build on that and believes online gaming and lottery will bring more funds.
Last week, New York issued a statement claiming that between January 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, the locally regulated market for online sports betting delivered US$1.055 billion in taxes for education. Meanwhile, the market generated US$362.8 million for education in 2023. Since its opening in January 2022, the state quickly turned into one of the leading jurisdictions in the U.S.
Committed to Further iGaming Expansion
Mr. Addabbo is chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering and he wants to build on the mobile sports betting success by adding online casinos and internet lottery. He said the CA$1 billion from mobile sports wagering for education was a monumental milestone. That is why the lawmaker urges for further expansion of the gaming offerings.
The Senator believes the state should build upon the foundation in order to make many additional improvements to the state’s gaming activities and addiction services. He is now looking forward to potentially having iGaming and iLottery in the state. He was also one of the largest proponents of online sports betting and had a crucial part in its introduction.
In his recent statement, he noted that it was a matter of when not if, the state will start offering digital casino and lottery products to residents. He added that this is something that the state should consider in the future. The senator said that if both iLottery and iGaming are legalized, the state would be sitting on top of a billion dollars in revenue.
He reckons online casinos and iLottery hold the capability to compete with or surpass sports betting in New York. As the state’s legislative calendar approaches its conclusion, Mr. Addabbo mentioned that he and his team will dedicate the summer to meticulously refining a fresh proposal for online casinos and online lottery in New York, ensuring all details are thoroughly addressed and finalized.
Latest on the Local Mobile Sports Betting Market
Last week, the New York State Gaming Commission issued its latest numbers which applied to the week ending on June 18, 2023. For the said seven-day period, operators handled US$278 million in wagers, which rendered into US$27.2 million in revenue. This was a 4.6% increase in gross gaming revenue from the prior week. Hold for operators jumped to 9.8%.
In the meantime, Bally Bet, which is one of the nine sportsbooks in the state, announced that it will be suspending sports wagering services in the jurisdiction. The company urged players to withdraw their money before June 30, 2023, when the app will go offline. The downtime will be used by the operator to integrate technology by Kambi and bolster user experiences.
