Gambling expansion won’t come to New York anytime soon as a new Bill seeking to legalize online casino games in the state did not make it to the one-house budget proposals of both the Assembly and the Senate. This does not come as a surprise, with the proponent of the Bill himself, Senator Joe Addabbo, earlier indicating that it was unlikely to be included in the fiscal budget.
iGaming Could Generate $3.1B for New York
Senate Bill 4856, put forward by Sen. Addabbo in February, would allow gambling operators in the state to offer online casino games. Should expanded gambling be legalized in New York, it could bring in as much as $3.1 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) to the state in its first year, according to an independent study conducted by Spectrum Gaming.
But all hopes of making that happen have now died down and New York gambling expansion supporters would have to wait another nine months to reignite discussions on the matter.
Strong Opposition to Gambling Expansion
Several groups are opposed to the legalization of online casino games, including the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, which argues that the move could impact the business operations of land-based gaming facilities, which would inevitably result in job losses.