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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Legislative efforts in Virginia to revive ONE Casino + Resort in Richmond face a significant hurdle in the name of Virginia State Sen. Joe Morrissey who is adamant that he would do what it takes to block the initiative from being put on this year’s referendum.

Sen. Morrissey Threatens to Derail the Casino

The ONE Casino + Resort, a casino project dating back to 2021 when the state approved five cities, Richmond, Danville, Bristol, Norfolk and Portsmouth, to build casinos is the only one which failed to materialize to date.

The measure was rejected during the 2021 referendum after 51% of the voters decided against it in 2021, while in 2022, Sen. Morrissey introduced a state budget amendment to block the casino, saying that the casino should be built in Petersburg instead.  A casino measure in Petersburg also failed to pass.

Morrissey is threatening to block the project again and quash hopes after this week’s Richmond City Council vote that it would be back on the ballot this fall, determined to prevent Richmond from building a casino.

“I will do what I can to make sure there’s budget language that prohibits Richmond from getting a casino,” Morrissey commented for NBC12 Richmond, explaining how disappointed he feels that the city “keeps going back, trying to get a referendum.”

It reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day. We hear it over and over again.

Sen. Joe Morrissey

And while Morrissey is fighting to legally block the casino, he is not the only opposition to the project, joined by Allan-Charles Chipman from Initiatives of Change USA, who believes the issue about the casino “is really about how Richmond feels about respecting democratic processes or not,” also saying that the Richmond casino project is still the same.

Casino Project Still the Same

The $562.5 million ONE Casino + Resort project involves building a 250-room hotel, a 3,000-seat entertainment venue, and restaurants, as well as a casino and will be jointly operated by Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) and Urban One via their joint venture, RVA Entertainment Holdings.

The casino property is estimated to generate $29.7 million yearly. If the measure goes to the November vote and is approved by the voters, the agreement with Richmond City Council stipulates that the developer pays $25.5 million to the city.

City of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney believes that the measure has the potential to pass the referendum this time, looking forward to the November vote filled with optimism.

“I feel really good,” Mayor Stoney commented. “I feel really optimistic about what November may hold,” he added.

If Morrissey’s attempts to block the measure fail, it would still have to be approved by both the Virginia Lottery and Richmond Circuit Court before it is put on the November ballot.

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