Take it with a grain of salt, but a new industry-backed survey indicates solid public support for expanding gambling in New York, specifically as it pertains to online casinos and internet lottery sales.
With three brick-and-mortar casinos coming soon to the greater New York City area and the Empire State’s dominance over legal sports betting in the US, online casinos in NY could prove to be the biggest prize for the industry yet.
Even by conservative estimates, legal online casinos in NY would be a billion-dollar market almost overnight. And most industry observers and experts think NY is on the very short list of states likely to legalize online gaming sooner rather than later.
NY online casino, lottery is a winner with most
That is why a recent poll from the Parkside Group is a big deal for gambling companies doing business in New York, and for those who want to in the future.
As reported by Politico, 51% of those surveyed by Parkside supported online casinos, more commonly known as iGaming. Almost 40% of those surveyed were opposed to legalizing online casinos in NY.
The same poll found 53% of New Yorkers were okay with internet lottery sales, too.
The state’s budget issues play a factor in public support. The poll found that 61% to 33% supported using gaming revenue taxes to plug fiscal shortfalls rather than raise taxes.
The Sports Betting Alliance commissioned the report. The telephone poll of 800 registered voters was conducted from Oct. 4 to Oct. 13 with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Does $1 billion even raise eyebrows in Albany anymore?
The timing of the report is beneficial to gambling expansion proponents, such as state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens, and Asm. Gary Pretlow, D-Mt. Vernon, two lawmakers who are preparing to reintroduce legislation to legalize iGaming in NY.
Addabbo chairs the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee and was a driving force behind NY’s embrace of legal sports betting. Pretlow chairs the Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee.
The two lawmakers co-authored a recent editorial saying New York — which is facing a deficit of nearly $4.3 billion next year — cannot afford to turn down $1 billion annually from legal online casino and internet lottery.
Addabbo and Pretlow have been unsuccessfully lobbying in Albany for gambling expansion for years. However, Addabbo again plans to introduce legislation by the end of the year to legalize NY online casinos.
Smart man puts smart money on NY
At least one prominent industry expert has high hopes for NY in the near future.
Steve Ruddock, a one-time Catena Media employee (the parent company of PlayNY) and current editor-in-chief of the Gaming Law Review, recently suggested that New York is a likely candidate for online casino legalization in 2024.
In his Nov. 29 “Straight to the Point” Substack newsletter, Ruddock moved the Empire State up to third, up three spots from his previous prediction.
