New York tinkers with responsible gambling regime with new bill
Senate bill would require mandatory problem gambling warnings and details of statewide problem gambling helpline in all advertising
New York state legislators have introduced a bill which would beef up the state’s current responsible gambling regime to include mandatory messaging concerning problem gambling.
Senate bill S1550, legislation sponsored by Senator Leroy Comrie and co-sponsored by Senator Luis R. Sepúlveda, requires operators to include warnings about gambling-related harms as well as signposting the state’s HOPEline, which helps at-risk gamblers.
In addition to these requirements, S1550 would require the New York State Gaming Commission to cooperate with the state’s commissioner of addiction services, with the aim of monitoring the compliance of operators with this statute in their marketing practices.
“In New York state, gambling can be found everywhere from physical casinos to a multitude of online websites and apps,” a justification included with the proposed bill states.
“The advent of the internet has made gambling more accessible through the online betting platform. As gambling becomes more easily accessed by more people, the number of lives negatively affected by gambling has also increased.
“In the unprecedented growth of gambling, where it is easy to place bets with PayPal, credit cards, bitcoin, or money-transfer apps; it is also important as a state to be proactive identifying and preventing potential problems of gambling,” the justification adds.
The bill was passed to the New York State Senate’s Committee for Racing, Gaming and Wagering on January 12, and is currently in committee stage.
Should it survive this scrutiny, it will be passed for a vote. If it passes, the bill would enter into law 16 days later.
The bill joins senate bill 9605, which is set to be debated this year and would see the New York State Gaming Commission given powers to implement rules and regulations concerning “predatory” sportsbook bonuses in mobile sports betting.
New York recently passed its first anniversary as a regulated mobile sports betting market, and 2023 could potentially see the further passage of legislation enabling online gambling in the Empire State, something which could also be subject to S1550’s requirements in the future.