Two senior New York legislators believe legalising igaming can plug the state’s impending holes in its budget, forecasting online casino would bring in US$1bn in annual revenue.
Writing an opinion piece for City & State New York, State Senator Joseph Addabbo and Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow said such revenues would go “above and beyond” the Empire State’s “tremendous” mobile sports betting successes.
In October, the New York State Gaming Commission reported record mobile sports betting revenue of $166.3m, up from the previous record of $165.5m set the month before. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, online sports betting revenue in New York reached $727.4million.
Addabbo and Pretlow said New York faces a “looming budget deficit of great proportions,” with the state needing to tackle a predicted 2024 deficit of $4.3bn, rising to $8bn in 2025.
“Solving it will require many difficult choices, but a good first step to beat the odds is right in front of us: we can double the substantial revenue we get from mobile sports betting through the legalisation of igaming,” they said.
They revealed they are “working on legislation” to authorise igaming and ilottery in New York which would follow the same framework as the mobile sports betting law. They said they are “optimistic” it could be enacted into law in the upcoming session.
Addabbo and Pretlow said the consensus from the neighbouring states which offer igaming – Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut – is that there is a “net increase in tax revenue from these activities with no detrimental effects on brick-and-mortar businesses.”
However, they pointed to the need for New York to channel igaming revenues that are currently being lost, back into the state’s own pot.
“At a time of fiscal distress for our state, we cannot continue to allow hundreds of millions of dollars to be funnelled into neighbouring states or into the pockets of disreputable companies – particularly when those funds could be used to further bolster funding for public schools or other worthy services,” they said.
Addabbo and Pretlow also said igaming legalisation would protect underage players and provide problem gambling support – “something the illegal market will never do.”
The legislators said their calls for igaming legalisation mirror their earlier desire to regulate mobile sports betting during the coronavirus pandemic. The pair said they were “proven correct – far beyond our own expectations” after predicting online sports betting revenue would be a “much-needed economic boon for New York at a time when we desperately needed it.”
“Now is the time for New York to invest in opportunities that will allow for big economic growth down the road, something we can hardly turn away from as the state faces an impending deficit,” Addabbo and Pretlow added.
New York gaming developments
Despite the lofty projections about igaming revenues, mobile sports betting has faced its challenges even with the record revenues.
Earlier this year, FanDuel president Christian Genetski told New York lawmakers that, amid the state's 51 per cent tax rate, there are “clear signs” that the market has peaked.
Nevertheless, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins this week backed the calls for igaming to have a major impact on gaming revenues in the US if more states regulate it.
In the land-based gaming sector, industry heavyweights are battling it out to secure three lucrative licences for the construction of new casinos in the state, with MGM Resorts International last week outlining its plan to turn MGM’s Empire City Casino into a “full-scale commercial casino.”
