New York Assembly Unanimously Passes Anti-Sweeps Bill
As expected, Addabbo’s bill easily advances through lower chamber
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New York is a governor’s signature from becoming the fourth state to pass a bill banning online sweepstakes casinos in the legislative calendar year after Sen. Joseph Addabbo’s bill unanimously passed in the Assembly on Tuesday.
Addabbo’s bill sailed through the Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee in the Senate committee he chairs prior to full Senate passage Friday. It was swapped in place for Assemblyperson Carrie Woerner’s companion bill since the two pieces of legislation contained identical language. Woerner’s bill also faced little resistance in the Assembly, passing through multiple committees in the lower chamber before the swap.
Woerner introduced the bill in the lower chamber, with Assemblyperson Jarrett Gandolfo — a supporter of the bill — the lone legislator seeking an explanation of the dual currency system Addabbo’s bill sought to ban. Woerner further specified that rewards programs run by the likes of Starbucks are not subject to the ban because “they don’t allow you to accumulate reward points and then cash them in for cash.”
A wholly expected outcome
“This bill doesn’t just target sweepstakes, it sends a chilling message to anyone looking to invest in the next generation of gaming innovation,” said a spokesperson for the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) in calling for Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto the bill. “Nearly every form of online gaming we know today, including companies like FanDuel, a New York-based success story, began as pre-regulated concepts. This legislation criminalizes that innovation cycle.”
The Social Games Leadership Alliance (SGLA) expressed similar disappointment in the bill’s passage. Executive Director Jeff Duncan noted, “Legislators raised legitimate questions about how this law would be enforced, whether federal law takes priority, and potential unintended consequences for widespread promotional activities — questions that remain unanswered because the bill was rushed through too quickly.
“By blurring the line between lawful sweepstakes promotions and illegal gambling, this legislation threatens a vibrant digital-entertainment sector while offering players no safer alternatives.”
Nevada, Montana, and Connecticut have already signed bills into law banning online sweepstakes gaming. Addabbo cited Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection suspending High5Games and hitting the operator with over 1,000 criminal counts of illegal gaming activity as a reason to enact similar legislation while in committee in the Senate.
New York legislators were also given legal backing to pass this bill after Attorney General Letitia James announced June 6 her office had sent cease-and-desist letters to 26 operators in the state regarding selling “sweeps coins” to New York players.
VGW, one of the world’s largest online casino platforms, saw the writing on the wall early. The operator of popular sweeps platforms including Chumba Casino, Luckyland Slots, and Global Poker, reportedly put a plan in place to remove the sweepstakes platform from its gaming suite in New York last month. That process is expected to take place in stages through the summer.
Proponents of gaming with sweepstakes prizing, though, have scored victories in Louisiana and Maryland. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed a bill despite unanimous passage in both the House and Senate, and a similar effort in Maryland never made it out of committee.
