State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. is still on a path to legalize online casinos in New York.
His first step is to eliminate sweepstakes casinos.
Sweepstakes casinos have been a controversial topic throughout the country. New Jersey and California are the latest states to ban operators.
Eliminating sweeps could clear the way for New York online casinos, which is something Addabbo has advocated for the last few years.
Protecting New Yorkers
Since there is so much controversy surrounding sweeps, Addabbo introduced Senate Bill 5935, which would ban New York sweepstakes casinos. The bill passed the Senate in March and is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.
Hochul has until the end of the year to sign the bill. Addabbo told SBC Americas his intentions for introducing the legislation.
“This is not about banning good businesses out of New York. This is protecting New Yorkers from illegal business. The governor, if she wants to, has this opportunity.”
The state senator noted that he does not want to chase business out of the Empire State. Instead, he wants to expand the legal market. Banning sweeps is a way to do that, he said.
Addabbo introduced legislation to legalize iGaming earlier this year. He still believes in his vision to push legal, and safe, online casinos for New York.
“Banning sweeps, yes, but the best thing we can do for the state is regulate. Once you regulate iGaming, you not only push out the illegal market, but you make for a very safe product.
“I think the real rational, progressive, incredible step would be to sign the bill to ban [sweeps], push that aside, and then regulate and make iGaming legal in New York.”
Addabbo’s rationale for sweeps ban
Should Hochul sign the sweeps bill, New York would be following in the footsteps of California and New Jersey, which have already banned sweeps.
New Jersey already has a strong iGaming structure in the state, which has proven to be successful. California has a strong tribal presence, which, mostly, had been against sweeps operators.
Addabbo is not only trying to keep New Yorkers safe, but he’s also trying to keep those in the Empire State from traveling to New Jersey or Pennsylvania to play online casino games.
Now that sweeps could be gone, it’s possible that even more New Yorkers will travel to neighboring states to play online casino games. That could spur New York to consider enacting an online casino market of its own.
