NY State Sen. Joe Addabbo: A ‘Rational Governor Would Want’ iGaming
While New York State Senator Joe Addabbo is giving online casinos, or iGaming, another go this year, he acknowledges that passage of his legislation is ultimately in the hands of Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Addabbo, chair of the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee, introduced on Tuesday, Jan. 7, Senate Bill 2614, which would legalize online casinos and online lottery sales in the state. This marks the fourth consecutive legislative session in which he has attempted to pass an iGaming bill.
Addabbo implores Hochul that revenue to be earned from iGaming would go a long way toward closing the state’s massive budget gap. Legalization also comes with responsible gaming measures, helping to keep New Yorkers’ money in New York.
“I’ll start the conversation,” Addabbo told Gambling Insider over the phone on Thursday.
“But in the end, if the governor doesn’t want the revenue, if the governor doesn’t want to help people with addiction, if the governor wants to still see our money go to another state, then we don’t do it.”
“I don’t know what rational governor would want to do that.”
Is NY Gov. Hochul’s Attitude Toward iGaming Shifting?
With Hochul’s blessing, the state of New York awarded three licenses for downstate casinos in December.
Meanwhile, sports betting, at least from a revenue perspective, has been an enormous success in New York. It has generated nearly $4 billion for the state since the regulated market launched in 2022.
Still, there’s apprehension about the gambling industry among state politicians, with bills on the legislative floor to ban live sports betting and impose further restrictions on sportsbooks, and Hochul yet to embrace iGaming.
Addabbo is more “optimistic” than “confident” Hochul’s view will shift.
“I have an administration that obviously, if they wanted to do iGaming, they would have done it previously,” said the Senator.
“I’ll be out there, and I’ll suggest it, and I won’t be the only one, but every state that has iGaming, it’s because the governor of that state wanted it.”
iGaming is a Fiscal Issue
Hochul’s State of the State address is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 13. Addabbo will be listening, hoping iGaming is part of the Governor’s economic plan. If it’s not, he’ll work to get it into the Senate’s budget.
“This is purely a fiscal item,” Addabbo stressed. “Sure, we could do this post-budget and before we end in June. But the reason why I push for it to be in the budget, it is a fiscal document.”
While it would take several months for the industry to get up and running and tax money to start flowing, there is immediate revenue to be had. The bill requires casino, video lottery terminal facility, or operator entities to pay a one-time fee of $2 million, while third-party platform providers would pay a fee of $10 million.
“We can get upfront money in this budget with license fees,” Addabbo said. “I talk about it in terms of a fiscal document because I’m looking to help the state fiscally. So my first go at it is with the budget.”
Bill is a ‘Starting Point’
The proposed tax rate in Addabbo’s bill is 30.5%. That’s significantly lower than the 51% of gross gaming revenue sportsbooks pay the state. Addabbo called the 30.5% figure a “starting point”.
“Most items in my bill are a starting point.”
He added that the sports betting bill that lawmakers ultimately passed in 2021 included about 60-65% of the original language after Gov. Andrew Cuomo shaped the final language.
“The final product may look a little different,” Addabbo explained. “The numbers may look a little different, but the bottom line is let’s start the conversation. Let’s figure out how to navigate this forward.”
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