NY would offer mobile bets on card games under proposed law
New York would go all in — following the success of mobile sports betting — if Albany passes new legislation to allow remote bets on casino staples such as blackjack, poker and craps.
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Queens), who just introduced the bill, said it’s time for New York to enter the next frontier of internet gambling on table games, which has been legalized in seven states including neighboring New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
“Mobile sports betting has been enormously successful. We’re number one in the country,” Addabbo said Thursday while discussing his “I-Gaming” measure.
A staggering $16 billion in mobile bets were placed on sports last year in New York — in the first year of operation, generating more than $700 million in tax revenue for state coffers.
“We have now proven there’s an appetite for I-Gaming with what we’ve seen with the mobile sports betting market,” said Addabbo, chairman of the state Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering.
He said more money can be generated for the state treasury from mobile bets on internet card games than on sports betting, and noted that New Yorkers are already placing billions of dollars of online bets on card games in other states or in the unregulated black market.
Like mobile sports betting, I-Gaming allows individuals to play table games on their phones — some of them with a live dealer.
Selected operators would pay a 30.5% tax rate on their gross revenues from I-Gaming and pay a $10 million license fee.
Casinos, sports betting licensees, Native-American tribes and downstate racinos would be eligible for 10-year I-Gaming licenses. The bettor would have to be physically in New York.
The live dealers serving the remote bettors would also have to be in New York, but can operate in a studio and not necessarily a casino.
An updated Spectrum consultant study prepared for the New York State Gaming Commission projected that internet gaming could generate between $2.3 billion and $3.1 billion in revenues for the state in year one, rising to $4.4 billion by year five, higher than previous estimated after reviewing results of other states with online card games.
Addabbo said his bill would allow mobile betting on all card games compared to prior legislation that focused on poker games.
“Internet gaming can co-exist with brick-and-mortar casinos,” Addabbo said.
Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon), who chairs the lower house’s racing and wagering committee, said he is “looking at” Addabbo’s bill to determine whether he will offer a companion measure.
Hochul’s office was non-committal. “Gov. Hochul will review the legislation if it passes both houses of the legislature,” said her spokesman, Avi Small.
Meanwhile, the state is considering issuing up to three downstate casino licenses within the next year after reviewing bids from gaming operators.
Bally’s is proposing building a casino on the grounds next to the Trump golf course at Ferry Point in the Bronx.
The owners of the existing slots parlors at the Aqueduct race track in Ozone Park, Queens and Yonkers race track — Genting/ Resorts World and MGM’s Empire City — are expected to submit bids to expand their offerings to include table games.
Mets owner Steve Cohen is eyeing a casino near the team’s Citi Field in Flushing, Queens. A 25,000-seat professional soccer stadium is also planned in the vicinity.
Others planning bids to operate a casino include the Steve Ross-Related Companies/Wynn Resorts partnership for Hudson Yards, the landlord SL Green/Caesars Entertainment team in Times Square and a consortium pushing for a gaming facility in Coney Island, whose partners include Legends, which is co-owned by the Yankees organization.
Addabbo said if his legislation is approved, online card gambling could generate more revenue more quickly than from casino expansion.
