New York is the 4th most populous state with a population of around 20 million people. But, while there are dozens of physical casinos in the state, with three more licences due to be handed out before the end of this year, online casinos are prohibited. Senator Joe Addabbo has been pushing to change the state’s gambling laws over the past few years, and bill S2614, which aims to do exactly this, is currently under consideration. But there is no guarantee that the push will lead to regulation.
The State Of New York Gambling
New York has dozens of physical casinos and is set to award three new licences for new casinos this year. However, online casino gambling is not regulated, which means players have to rely on offshore casinos such as those on the ReadWrite New York casino list. According to iGaming expert Gavin Beech, these sites offer features like live dealer games and generous bonuses, but they are not regulated by the state. There are continued efforts to change this, however.
Casino Revenue Continuing To Drop
In 2023, gaming revenues generated $4.7bn for the state, but casino revenue has been dropping in the first few months of 2025 and in the past couple of years. Considering the size of the tax bill, the state stands to potentially lose out on a lot of money if the downward trend continues.
New Physical Casino Licences
In 2013, the State Constitution was amended, allowing seven commercial casinos in New York. Four licences were granted, but that left the potential for three more. In 2022, the process to award those three licences began, and they are expected to be awarded before the end of this year. However, the process could cause online gaming’s progress to stall, as some of the bidders have cited concerns that iGaming would diminish the potential returns on their retail investments.
Senator Joe Addabbo is the main driving force behind the push to regulate iGaming. He has put forward bills in the past few years. While none have yet made it any further than the submission phase, Addabbo has returned unfazed this year. In January, the senator put forward bill S2614.
Bill S2614
Bill S2614 proposed the regulation of online iGaming, as well as the regulation of sweepstakes casinos. It proposes a high tax rate, which is roughly double that of New Jersey’s, at 30.5%. The bill also aims to prohibit access to licensed sites to players outside New York’s borders, and also requires casino servers to be located within the state.
Sweepstakes Casinos Banned
While there hasn’t been any movement on the regulation of iGaming casinos, sweepstakes casinos have been banned since the submission of the act. Attorney General Letitia James announced in June that sweepstakes casinos have been officially banned. Cease and desist letters were sent to 26 operators.
While announcing the ban, James said: “Online sweepstakes casinos are illegal, dangerous, and can seriously ruin people’s finances. I thank the New York State Gaming Commission and Senator Addabbo for partnering with my office on this issue to protect New Yorkers.”
Potential Tax Revenue
If New York were to legalize online casinos, it would become the largest state to do so. However, Pennsylvania introduced regulations in 2017. Pennsylvania has a smaller population than New York, at 14 million rather than 20 million. Yet, Pennsylvania makes around $100 million a month in tax revenue from iGaming alone.
New York could reasonably expect to make at least this amount if it were to regulate, although Pennsylvania does have the benefit of nearly 10 years of regulated iGaming history. $1.2bn a year of tax revenue is difficult to continue ignoring, and this is one of the most likely drivers behind the push. Regulation would also likely see an increase in jobs, thanks to the requirement of servers and iGaming companies to effectively be based within the state.
Regulation would be unlikely to attract tourism, as this is generally experienced by the introduction of physical gambling instead. Most states use at least a portion of tax revenue and other fees charged to online gambling companies for education and other public services, too, which means its introduction would benefit people right across the state and in several ways.
New York iGaming
It’s currently unclear whether iGaming proposals in New York have progressed, as there hasn’t been any official word. If previous years are anything to go by, it seems unlikely, despite the potential for massive tax revenue gains. However, a decline in revenue from physical casinos could see changes, led by Senator Joe Addabbo.
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