True to his word, Senator Joseph Addabbo introduced a new iGaming bill in New York. The measure, dubbed Senate Bill 8185 was referred to the Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee yesterday and seeks to authorize interactive gaming and interactive lottery gaming in The Empire State.

Addabbo, who’s a staunch supporter of the launch of online casino gaming in the state, also tried to get the vertical legalized in 2023. His previous bill, S4856, also sought to get digital gambling legalized. However, a major difference is that the previous bill did not include online lottery.

In any case, S4856 failed to gain traction and never yielded results. However, this did not stop Addabbo from promoting the launch of online gambling in New York.

Under S8185, New York’s seven land-based casinos, racetracks and tribes will be eligible to apply for online gambling licenses. The potential bidding process will also handle three additional licenses to parties that submit a program that gets the commission’s approval.

As mentioned, the main difference from last year’s bill is that S8185 also includes the legalization of online lottery. Per the proposal, New York would allow players to access joint, multi-jurisdiction and out-of-state lotteries online. Ticket sales would be overseen by the New York State Division of Lottery.

Addabbo Says New York Would Benefit from the Legalization

Applicants will have to pay a one-time license fee to secure their license. Existing operators, for example, will be required to pay $2 million for a license. Independent contractors, however, will need to pay $10 million.

In addition, potential applicants should prepare to face significant taxes as S8185 envisions a 30.5% gross gaming revenue tax. Mirroring New York betting’s controversial (and according to some operators unsustainable) tax, Addabbo plans to set high taxation rates for operators. As per the bill, $11 million of this money will be distributed by the Commission and the Office of Addiction Services and Supports for problem gambling-related services.

Under the current version of the bill, only players above the age of 21 will be allowed to play online.

A few days ago, the Senator commented on the matter, saying that the legislation would greatly benefit New York, significantly alleviating its rising financial pressures. He said:

Other states are doing it and taking our money. And if I hear my analysts in the industry correctly, we lose about a billion dollars a year. How long can we sit on the sidelines?

Senator Addabbo

New York is currently America’s largest betting market, constantly posting record-breaking figures. Addabbo and other online gambling supporters hope to replicate this success and generate more tax revenue for the state.

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State Senator Joseph Addabbo has announced his ambitious plans to introduce an online casino and online lottery bill by the end of 2023, just in time for the upcoming session in January 2024 as well as the executive budget. This marks the Senator’s second attempt to introduce these iGaming products to the Empire State after his failed trial last year. 

Still a Lot to Be Done

Sen. Addabbo explained there is still a lot of work to do for the bill to make it into the session at the head of the next year, including “getting feedback from those in the industry,” which may include representatives of the casino industry, labor, and other parties. 

The Senator explained that they had followed the same successful steps when trying to introduce mobile sports betting to gamblers in the state. While admitting that the form and structure of the mobile sports betting bill were different from the ones proposed by him and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, the Senator still considered it a victory that “about 65% of our vision got into the bill.”

He also praised the fact that the bill revealed itself to be the most successful mobile sports betting product in the US. 

Since Sen. Addabbo is also determined to include iLottery in the new bill, the efforts involved are expected to be even greater for obvious reasons. The Senator expects both products to generate a state revenue of about one billion dollars. 

The new bill would include a 30% tax rate, which would be about the same tax as the one included in last year’s bill which failed to reach the executive budget.

“It’s a Budgetary Item”

The Senator expressed his concerns over the “multi-billion-dollar deficit” and the fact that the state cannot raise the taxes to such an extent to cover it while bringing up the possibility of generating new revenue via iGaming and iLottery as an alternative solution. 

He also explained that other US states that have already legalized online casinos and lotteries are currently “taking our money” while mentioning the large number of New Yorkers known to engage in illegal gambling.

Sen. Addabbo believes sitting on the sidelines would be the wrong thing to do, in the context of industry analysts speaking about the state losing one billion dollars each year. 

Finally, the Senator expressed his hope that Gov. Kathy Hochul would consider at least exploring the idea of legalizing online casinos in the executive budget as a means of opening the door to “dialogue and negotiation.”

In January 2023, Sen. Addabbo spoke about the state’s plans regarding three open licenses for full casinos, emphasizing the positive impact on the future of gambling in NY.

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The NOVOMATIC Digital Gaming and Entertainment division, Greentube, announced that its subsidiary, Greentube USA, launched an innovative new iLottery game called Drop The Balls. Confirmation regarding the debut of the new title came Thursday and sees the company deliver a thrilling, engaging and unique title that stands out with rewarding features and provides unmatched experiences.

Greentube USA confirmed that the first lottery to benefit from the new iLottery game is the Washington DC Lottery. This will enable the operator to be the first one to deliver the Drop The Balls title to its customer base.

Describing the new innovative title, the game developer revealed that it represents a combination of bagatelle, pachinko and pinball. The uniquely designed game is developed especially to capture the attention of a wide range of audiences, allowing them to tap into thrilling experiences.

Although its debut was just announced, Drop The Balls is expected to become an instant hit within the iLottery vertical. The new title stands out with quality graphics, delivers realistic simulations and more importantly, provides engaging gameplay that is unlike any other iLottery game on the market.

According to Greentube, the new game grants the players an “opportunity to drop balls onto a playfield filled with obstacles and multiplier catchers, adding value to the balls as they drop.” A variety of different targets can boost the potential payouts with bonuses. Moreover, players that catch a bonus ball secure free balls for a special bonus round that grants a chance for even bigger prizes.

The Developer Is Delighted to Launch the New Game

Ben Sutherland, Greentube USA’s CEO, spoke about the realistic physics simulations that the new game delivers and acknowledged their importance toward customer experience. He predicted that the Drop The Balls title game will be enjoyed by seasoned lottery fans and newcomers. Finally, Sutherland said that Greentube USA is delighted to launch the game for the Washington DC Lottery.

“The magic at the heart of this game is a physics simulation that makes all the action in the game look and feel realistic. Drop The Balls is a game that lottery players of all ages will enjoy, and we are excited to be launching it with the Washington DC Lottery.“

Ben Sutherland, CEO at Greentube USA

To propel its growth in the US market, Greentube USA continues to collaborate with EQL’s RGS aggregation platform. The company anticipates that the recent launch will be the first out of many, allowing it to deliver new, thrilling, innovative and engaging games for the regulated gambling market across the US, as well as Latin America and Europe.

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NeoPollard Interactive (NPi), the joint venture of Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)-listed Pollard Banknote Limited and Nasdaq-listed NeoGames S.A., announced that its operator partner, the Virginia Lottery, has become the first US lottery to operate an iLottery program completely based in the cloud.

The Cloud Solution Allows Better Service

The milestone industry achievement reached by the Virginia Lottery serves as a display of NeoPollard’s continuous commitment to enhancing its technology capabilities and meeting the evolving demands of its lottery partners and their players. NeoPollard is the first vendor in the iLottery space to operate its solution in the cloud.

Doug Pollard, co-chief executive officer of NPi, outlined the trust placed in NPi by the Virginia Lottery that allowed the completely cloud-based iLottery solution to be delivered, mindful of the business need “to continually refine” its offerings concurrent with emerging new trends in technology.

Delivering our iLottery solution through the cloud will enable us to better serve the Virginia Lottery and other iLottery programs that are powered by NPi.

Doug Pollard, co-CEO, NPi

Moti Malul, co-chief executive officer of NPi, pointed to the growth in traffic online due to “record-breaking jackpots over the last few years” as the main driver for iLottery programs to start looking for solutions that will enable them “to effectively respond to player purchase demand,” including solutions operating in the cloud.

By harnessing the enhanced capabilities that only cloud hosting provides, we can better support the growth of our lottery clients as they strive to meet and exceed player expectations.

Moti Malul, co-CEO, NPi

NPi’s cloud-based solutions include NeoDraw, the Central Gaming System (CGS) for draw games, NeoSphere, the player account management (PAM) and marketing system, and NeoPlay, the eInstant Remote Gaming Server (RGS) and the games hosted on it.

Migration to the Cloud Offers Scalability

Kelly T. Gee, executive director of the Virginia Lottery, outlined the lottery’s commitment “to providing a best-in-class experience” to its players, convinced of the benefits the cloud-based solution offered by NPi would bring to the lottery.

“Enhancing the scalability of our iLottery platform through the use of cloud technology demonstrates to our players that we place a priority on a seamless and reliable iLottery experience, all of which ultimately supports our mission to raise revenue for our public schools,” Gee commented.

The migration to cloud hosting will bring efficiencies related to the operation and maintenance of the Virginia Lottery’s iLottery program, allowing the lottery to instantly scale and accommodate large jackpot runs and volumes of promotions and campaigns.

With profits allocated solely for K-12 public education in the commonwealth since 1999, the Virginia Lottery has contributed more than $11 billion, as part of its commitment to giving back.

Earlier in the year, the parent companies behind the NPi joint venture signed a new operating agreement and amended the previous one to allow both partners to pursue future North American digital lottery opportunities in partnership, or independently.

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