Senator Addabbo is already tweaking the language of his planned online gaming bill
New York Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. plans to introduce iGaming expansion legislation in December. It continues to evolve, and could include language that would seek to legalize peer-to-peer online poker, as well as authorization to join a multi-state compact to support online poker through a shared player pool.
If online poker were legalized, the 19.7 million residents of New York would make it the most populated online poker state, far ahead of Pennsylvania and Michigan, which have 13 million and 10 million residents, respectively.
Addabbo told Poker Industry PRO that the bill he will propose in December also seeks to legalize online casinos and an online lottery. The final draft may be an amended version of the iGaming expansion bill he introduced in February, S4856, but could also incorporate portions of A1380, which was proposed by fellow Democrat
Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow (D-Mount Vernon) and sought to make online poker legal in New York.
Addabbo, the chairman of the Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering, stated the new bill would include
“online table games, poker. It would be pretty broad.” Peer-to-peer poker would also be permitted, with possible verbiage to allow New York to join a multi-jurisdictional compact, like the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA).
“What we’re seeing is that mobile sports betting in New York is being perceived as the number one product in the country,” said Addabbo. “We should build upon that. The timing for iGaming is perfect in the sense that we’re showing that New Yorkers have the propensity and the desire to game with a device, as well as going through a brick-and-mortar site.”
“But poker is very popular, so why miss out on that segment? I think it’s something that you have to consider,” he added.
Emma Rodriguez is the Proofreader at the Big Blind, with seven years of experience and five years in online gambling. She plays a crucial role in maintaining content quality by ensuring error-free, reader-friendly information about the gambling industry.
