A bill to legalise igaming in New York state was introduced by Senator Steve Addabbo, similar to his bill that failed last year.
SB 4856 provides that the nine existing online sports betting operators would be granted a licence to conduct online casino gaming, with one skin per licence.
Revenue would be taxed at 30.5 per cent, which is lower than the 51 per cent rate applicable to sports betting revenue. Sports betting operators would be able to boost revenue at a lower tax rate.
A bill to lower the sports betting tax has already been introduced, though its chances are murky. The initial licensing fee would be $2m for a term of 10 years.
The bill would prohibit operators who offer online casino gaming in illegal markets from obtaining a New York igaming licence. SB 4856 has been referred to the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee.
Addabbo also introduced SB 1962 this year to increase the number of mobile sports betting licences to no less than 14 by next January and 16 by January 2025 and establish a sliding scale for taxation of net mobile sports gaming revenue.
