New York Commission Making Push To Steer Residents Clear Of Unregulated Gambling

The state of New York opened its first full commercial casino in 2006, introduced retail sports betting in 2019, launched mobile sports betting in 2022, and just last month saw the first legal table games dealt in New York City.

While regulated gaming keeps expanding — with additional expansion into the online casino realm looming as a possibility in the years ahead — the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) is now making a concerted push to prevent residents of the state from gambling through outlets that are not regulated by the state. Last Friday, the commission introduced an initiative called “Avoid Risky Bets,” designed to educate New Yorkers about what’s legal and what isn’t and the risks of gambling at unregulated sites.

The timing surely has something to do with the rise of prediction markets — federally regulated operations that offer what is essentially sports wagering in many states — but that’s not all that the NYSGC is targeting. The post announcing the project also singles out offshore casinos and sweepstakes sites.

“Legitimate, lawful, regulated gaming — of which there are ample options — has fair wagers, player safeguards, responsible gaming measures, and societal benefits,” said NYSGC Chairman Brian O’Dwyer in the post. “Whereas the unlawful gambling market rips off unsuspecting individuals — including youth — who think they are making legitimate wagers to the benefit of faceless, untraceable operations. While the two may sometimes look similar, it’s clear which one is a smart wager and which one is a risky bet.”

‘The unlawful market is often faceless’

The “Avoid Risky Bets” landing page within the commission’s website lists several forms of online gambling that are regulated by the state: licensed sportsbooks, advance deposit wagering on horse racing, online lottery ticket sellers, approved fantasy sports operators, and online raffles hosted by authorized charitable organizations.

It warns that “unlawful gambling” doesn’t protect consumers, allows underage individuals to risk real money, and doesn’t come with the benefit of providing tax revenue.

As the site says in the FAQ section: “The unlawful market is often faceless. Who or what profits from your wager?”

Of course, one reason the NYSGC is motivated to stamp out unregulated gaming is because it can detract from regulated gambling revenue. On that front, GGR Asia reported Monday on the first six days of returns for table games at Resorts World New York City in Queens, with Maybank Investment Bank saying the average daily per-table gross gaming revenue was 37% below what Maybank had expected.

In total, the venue’s 242 tables produced $4.9 million in revenue over the first six days.

Analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang wrote that table game revenue “underwhelmed” — but that slot machine revenue was up more than 20% year-over-year. So any concerns that table games would siphon away slot players appear unfounded in these early days. If anything, the numbers suggest the table games are attracting new customers who then try out the slots.